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BNSF Broadway Street Bridge

Concrete Slab Bridge over Broadway Street and Clark Street
Aurora, Kane County, Illinois

Click the Photo Above to See All Photos of This Bridge!
Name BNSF Broadway Street Bridge
Built By Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
Contractor Unknown
Currently Owned By BNSF Railway
Length 215 Feet Total, 25 Foot Main Spans
Width 3 Tracks, 2 In Use
Height Above Ground 13 Feet 9 Inches
Superstructure Type Concrete Slab
Substructure Type Concrete
Date Built 1920
Traffic Count 120 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status In Use
BNSF Bridge Number 37.73
Significance Minimal Significance
Documentation Date March 2022
In 1852, the Chicago & Aurora Railroad built a mainline between Mendota, Illinois and Aurora, Illinois.
At Aurora, the line connected to other railroads, which branched in all directions.

At the same time, the Central Military Tract Railroad built a line from Mendota, to Galesburg. This additional line would lay the groundwork of a series of western lines into Iowa and Missouri.

Both railroads became part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad in 1855.

The CB&Q used Aurora as a hub, with other rail lines coming in and out.

This line cut across mostly rural land, going through small towns along the way.
The line was also important, and was double tracked very quickly. By 1868, the line was double tracked between Chicago and Mendota.

The remainder of the line was double tracked in sections, mostly in the 1880s.

The line was critical to the CB&Q. By 1970, the CB&Q was merged into Burlington Northern, along with the Great Northern and Northern Pacific.
BN continued to operate the line until 1996, when they merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe to form BNSF Railway.

BNSF currently operates this as their Mendota Subdivision. It sees a steady traffic base, and carries Amtrak.
10/25/22


Located in Aurora, this slab bridge crosses Broadway Street (Illinois Route 25) at Clark Street.
Built in 1920 as the CB&Q realigned through the area, the bridge features eight concrete slab spans, set onto concrete substructures. Bridges such as this were common for 1920s era grade separations.
Despite being of exceedingly common design, this bridge does posses a unique skew, giving the impression of it being two separate bridges at the west face.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair condition, with some spalling found throughout the bridge.

The author has ranked this bridge as being minimally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.

Citations

Source Type

Source

Build Date Relocation of tracks
Railroad Line History Source ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele



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