- 1867: 10 miles completed between Tomah and Warren, Wisconsin by the West Wisconsin Railway
- 1868: 21 miles completed between Warren and Black River Falls, Wisconsin by the West Wisconsin Railway
- 1869: 34 miles completed between Black River Falls and Augusta, Wisconsin by the West Wisconsin Railway
- 1870: 46 miles completed between Augusta and Eau Claire, Wisconsin by the West Wisconsin Railway
- 1871: 44 miles completed between Eau Claire and Hudson, Wisconsin by the West Wisconsin Railway
- 1871: 18 miles completed between St. Paul and Stillwater, Minnesota by the St. Paul, Stillwater & Taylors Falls Railroad
- 1871: 4 miles including St. Croix River Bridge completed between Stillwater Junction, Minnesota and Hudson, Wisconsin by the St. Paul, Stillwater & Taylors Falls Railroad
- 1872: 32 miles completed between Elroy and Warren, Wisconsin by the West Wisconsin Railway
- 1872: 10 miles abandoned between Warren and Tomah, Wisconsin by the West Wisconsin Railway
- 1878: West Wisconsin Railway acquired by Chicago, St. Paul & Minneapolis Railway
- 1880: Chicago, St. Paul & Minneapolis Railway acquired by Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway
- 1880: St. Paul, Stillwater & Taylors Falls Railroad acquired by St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad
- 1881: St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad acquired by Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway
- 1881: New St. Croix River Bridge and realignment at Hudson
- 1883: The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway is controlled by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1884: 16 miles completed between Wyeville and Necedah, Wisconsin by the Princeton and Western Railway
- 1902: Realignment around Black River Falls to reduce grades
- 1911: 125 miles completed from Necedah to Butler, Wisconsin by the Milwaukee, Sparta & North Western Railway
- Connection at Wyeville allows for faster travel between the Twin Cities, Milwaukee and Chicago
- 1911: Second track completed from Wyeville to Menomonie, including realignment at Eau Claire
- 1912: Second track completed from Menomonie to Knapp
- 1912: Princeton and Western acquired by the Milwaukee, Sparta & North Western Railway
- 1912: MS&NW acquired by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1913: Second track completed from Knapp to St. Paul
- 1915: Original bridge at Black River Falls removed
- 1957: The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway is leased by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1957-62: Second track mostly removed from Wyeville to St. Paul
- 1971: Sheppard to Black River Falls spur abandoned
- 1972: The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway is fully absorbed by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1986: Levis to Black River Falls spur abandoned
- 1987: Camp Douglas to Elroy segment abandoned and purchased by Juneau County for trail use
- 1992: Omaha Trail opens between Camp Douglas and Elroy
- 1992: Original alignment through Eau Claire is abandoned
- 1995: Chicago & North Western purchased by Union Pacific Railroad
- 2015: Original bridge at Eau Claire opens to pedestrians
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates the Altoona Subdivision from St. Paul to Altoona
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates the Wyeville Subdivision from Altoona to Adams
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific owns the Camp Douglas Industrial Lead from Wyeville to Camp Douglas
02/25/23
This iconic structure crosses the St. Croix River at Hudson, just upstream from the I-94 bridge.
The bridge is a rather noticeable structure, employing an odd mixture of spans. The main span is a swing span, containing a pair of 6 panel, riveted Pratt Through Trusses.
In addition, another 6 Panel Pratt Through Truss with riveted connections and a 6 panel Parker Pony Truss with riveted connections make up the east end of the bridge. When constructed, there were nine more pony trusses along the east side of the bridge, which were filled in prior to 1938. The pony truss was originally built in 1898, while the remaining bridge was built in 1912-13.
The bridge rests on a combination of stone and concrete substructures.
The current bridge replaced two predecessors. The first structure at this location was a wooden swing span, with a long trestle approach on the east side. This approach was nearly 1,000 Feet Long.
In 1881, this span was replaced with a Lattice Truss style swing span, along with a Lattice through truss and numerous pony truss spans.
This bridge was replaced in 1912 by the current bridge. Much of the long approach has been converted to a long fill in the river.
Presently, best views of this bridge would come by boat. However, walking along the banks of the river or photographing it from the Hudson River Walk works as well.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the truss design.
The photo above is from Quant Avenue, on the Minnesota Side of the river.
| Upstream | Wisconsin Central High Bridge |
| Downstream | Old Prescott Swing Bridge |