At Roodhouse, it connected to another StLJ&C mainline.
Three years prior, the Louisiana and Missouri River Railroad constructed a line between Mexico, Missouri and the Mississippi River at Louisiana, Missouri.
The two railroads would finally connect in 1873, when a bridge would be constructed over the Mississippi River.
An additional 163 miles to Kansas City would be built westward from Mexico in 1878, finally seeing completion in 1879. This line was constructed by the Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago Railroad.
Both the railroads in Missouri would be under control of the Chicago & Alton Railroad from completion. In Illinois, the St. Louis, Jacksonville and Chicago Railroad would become fully absorbed by the Chicago & Alton in 1899.
The Chicago & Alton operated this route as a backbone type route, connecting Kansas City to the Mississippi River.
In 1931, the Chicago & Alton would be renamed the Alton Railroad, and be operated as a subsidiary of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. This lasted until 1947, when it became part of the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad.
The GMO operated this line until 1972, when they merged with Illinois Central to form Illinois Central Gulf; who operated this line until 1987.
By 1987, the line had deteriorated significantly. The line was sold to the Chicago, Missouri and Western Railway. This railroad failed very quickly, and by 1990 the line was spun off to Gateway Western Railroad.
From 1990 to 1997, Gateway Western was an affiliate of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. After ATSF merged to form BNSF, GWWR became a subsidiary of Kansas City Southern.
Kansas City Southern fully dissolved the GWWR in 2001, and continues to operate this line.
06/26/21
Located just west of downtown Independence, this through girder bridge crosses US Highway 24 at Arlington Avenue.
Built in 1935, the bridge consists of a single through plate girder span, set onto concrete substructures. The girder span follows a standard design.
This style bridge was commonly used for grade separations, due to the ease of construction. Typically, a bypass would be built around the site as the bridge was constructed.
As trains became more frequent and faster, medium and large cities oftentimes advocated for railroads to construct grade separations at major streets. It appears this segment of US-24 was rebuilt around 1935 as a parkway into Independence.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition, with no significant deterioration noted.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.