The Atchison and St. Joseph Railroad would complete the St. Joseph-Winthrop portion in 1861; and begin construction on the North Kansas City-Weston portion of the line in 1863.
The Weston and Atchison Railroad would complete the lines between Weston and Winthrop. These two railroads would be merged back together in 1867 to form the Missouri Valley Railroad; which completed the North Kansas City-Weston portion of the line.
In 1867, the St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad built an 81 mile line from St. Joseph, Missouri to the Iowa border. The entire line would parallel the Missouri River from Kansas City northwards.
By 1870; the railroad would be reorganized as the Kansas City, St. Joseph and Council Bluffs Railroad. This railroad also built a number of other branch lines and relocated significant portions of trackage along the Missouri River.
In 1901, the railroad would be formally merged into the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad; which had constructed a large amount of trackage around the region. The line was critical for connecting Council Bluffs to Kansas City.
The CB&Q continued to operate this as a mainline; until 1970. In 1970, the CB&Q would merge with Great Northern and Northern Pacific to form Burlington Northern; a large railroad which operated a consierable amount of trackage through the area.
In 1996, BN merged with the struggling Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form BNSF Railway; the current operator of the line.
This portion is currently the southern part of the St. Joseph subdivision.
10/25/22
Located along River Road near Parkville, this small through girder bridge crosses Roy's Creek.
The bridge was built in 1908, when the CB&Q double tracked this route. However, the second track was removed in 1958 before being reinstalled in 2005.
Currently the bridge consists of parallel bridges. The older 1908 bridge consists of a single through girder span, with a steel deck. The newer span consists of a modular concrete span. The bridge rests on concrete and steel pile substructures.
This style bridge was common for crossing small creeks, as it was easy to construct and maintain. The author is currently investigating to confirm the 1908 build date.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition, with no major deterioration.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.