By 1885, an expansion would be made into Omaha. It would be quickly sold to the Omaha and North Platte Railroad.
The Omaha & North Platte desired to continue building west, reaching Ashland by 1888. They would continue north towards Fremont from that point.
The two railroads combined formed a loop, to allow Chicago, Burlington & Quincy trains to enter Omaha. The CB&Q mainline bypassed Omaha about 10 miles to the south.
The railroads became a full part of the CB&Q in 1908, which invested money to heavily rebuild the two.
The CB&Q continued operations of this route until 1970, when they merged with Great Northern and Northern Pacific to form Burlington Northern.
By 1996, the BN merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe to form BNSF Railway, the current owner of this line. It is currently known as the Omaha Subdivision.
06/26/21
Located near Giles Road and I-80 in La Vista, this impressive girder bridge crosses West Papillion Creek and the West Papio Trail.
When it was first built, the bridge originally served as a crossing of the Union Pacific line, which was turned into the West Papio Trail in 2018.
Like many bridges along this line, the history is not entirely clear on this bridge. There is a plaque on a deck girder span giving a date of 1910, but the east abutment also has a stamp for an 1899 date.
It is likely that the deck girders date to 1910, although the span over the trail is less clear. It appears that it may date to around 1900. Both approaches have been upgraded since the 1910 iteration of this bridge. It is believed the west approaches may date to the 1920s, while the east approaches probably date to the 1950s or 1960s.
The east approach is also interesting, as it appears these two spans replaced some sort of girder span, which probably dated to 1899. It is possible that it was identical to the span over the trail.
Currently, this bridge consists of two concrete slab spans on the west end, then a short 30-foot deck plate girder, a 60-foot deck plate girder, a 55-foot deck plate girder, a 40-foot through girder and two I-Beam spans on the east end. The entire bridge rests on various styles of concrete substructures.
The through girder span is of particular interest. It appears that it is actually a half through girder, although it is unknown if it has been modified since the original construction.
Prior to the construction of the trail underneath, this bridge was a hangout spot for teenagers. This led to at least one incident of people dying on the bridge when a train came around the curve. The author would like to remind anyone reading that all railroad bridges, but especially this one, are dangerous places and should not be walked on.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition, with little notable deterioration.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the large size and impressive collection of spans.
The photo above is an overview. The author intends to research this bridge more, to come up with a more complete history.