- 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
Located near the whistle stop of Santiago, this large deck girder bridge is the largest on the Chichaqua Valley Trail.
Plaques on the bridge indicate that it was built in 1928. The bridge consists of four large deck girder spans, approached by trestle on either side. The girders are set onto concrete piers.
It is unknown what this bridge replaced. However, the South Skunk River has been heavily channelized at this location, so it is possible the old bridge was a truss or girder at another location.
The bridge also runs at a skew across the river, and the piers are angled to be perpendicular to the river.
While the steel of the bridge appears to be well maintained, the trestle approaches and trail deck of the bridge are in poor condition. The trestle spans were originally ballasted deck, and the trail was paved over this. Unfortunately, the ballast pan has rotted in some spots, causing the deck to begin to sink.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair condition, with some deterioration noted on the timber components of the bridge.
The author has ranked the bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.
| Upstream | UP S. Skunk River Bridge (Cambridge) |
| Downstream | IAIS S. Skunk River Bridge |