- 1884: 104 miles completed from Waterloo to Des Moines, Iowa by the Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska Railway
- 1886: WI&N sold to the Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City Railway
- 1887: 27 miles completed from Oelwein to Waterloo, Iowa by the Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City Railway
- 1888: 159 miles completed from Des Moines, Iowa to St. Joseph, Missouri by the Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City Railway
- 1890: 23 miles completed from St. Joseph, Missouri to Beverly, Missouri by the Leavenworth & St. Joseph Railway
- 1892: L&StJ merged into the Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City Railway, trackage rights obtained over the Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific into Kansas City
- 1893: CStP&KC sold to the Chicago Great Western Railway
- 1909: Chicago Great Western Railway becomes the Chicago Great Western Railroad
- 1968: Chicago Great Western purchased by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1984: Des Moines to St. Joseph segment abandoned due to acquisition of parallel Rock Island "Spine Line"
- 1985: Bondurant to Marshalltown segment abandoned
- 1985: Cedar Falls to Cedar Falls Junction segment abandoned
- 1986: St. Joseph to Kansas City segment abandoned
- 1989: Marshalltown to Cedar Falls Junction segment abandoned
- 1995: C&NW purchased by Union Pacific Railroad
- 2001: Bell Avenue Industrial Lead in Des Moines abandoned
- 2011: Bondurant Industrial Lead abandoned
- 1987-Present: Chicaqua Valley Trail uses the railroad grade from I-80 north of Des Moines to Baxter
- 1992-Present: Great Western Trail uses the railroad grade from Des Moines to Martensdale
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific leases the Cedar Falls to Oelwein segment to the Iowa Northern Railroad
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates small segments of the former route in Des Moines and Kansas City
06/26/21
This basic concrete arch was likely built around 1910 to replace an older timber trestle.
When the bridge was abandoned, it was just left to deteriorate. Much of the berm was removed from it at some point, exposing the roof of it.
The overall health of the structure is poor. The walls have serious cracks in them, and the roof has holes.
The author has ranked the bridge as locally significant due to the landmark status of it.
Otherwise, the bridge appears to retain good historical integrity. The photo above is an overview.
Update
The bridge was removed due to safety concerns in 2015.