- 1890: 44 miles completed Madison to Litchfield, Illinois by the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railroad
- 1900: CP&StL acquired by the Litchfield & Madison Railway
- 1901: 83 miles completed from Nelson to Peoria, Illinois by the Peoria & Northwestern Railway
- 1901: P&NW acquired by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1904: 24 miles completed from Benld to Girard, Illinois by the Macoupin County Railway
- 1912: Macoupin County Railway sold to the St. Louis, Peoria & Northwestern Railway
- 1913: 93 miles completed from Kickapoo (Peoria) to Benld, Illinois by the St. Louis, Peoria & Northwestern Railway
- 1913: StLP&NW sold to the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1913: 4 miles completed from Girard to Staunton by the Macoupin County Extension Railway
- 1914: Macoupin County Extension leased to the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1927: 3 miles completed from Staunton to the Litchfield & Madison at DeCamp by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1957: Litchfield & Madison purchased by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1995: Chicago & North Western purchased by Union Pacific Railroad
- 1998: DeCamp to Stallings segment abandoned
- 1998: Barr to Girard segment abandoned
- 1998: DeCamp to Monterey Junction sold to Norfolk Southern Railroad
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates the Peoria Subdivision from Nelson to Barr
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates the Monterey Subdivision from Nilwood to Monterey Junction
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates the Granite City Industrial Lead from Madison to Granite City
- 1998-Present: Norfolk Southern operates the Monterey Branch from DeCamp to Monterey Junction
- 2010-Present: Sangamon Valley Trail is developed in pieces between Barr and Girard
12/23/21
Located in the town of Pekin, this large truss bridge crosses Illinois Highway 29 at a large skew.
Built in 1913 as the railroad built through the area, the bridge consists of a single heavily skewed riveted Quadrangular Through Truss. This truss sits on concrete substructures.
While nationally the Quadrangular design is uncommon, it was popular with midwestern railroads, particularly the Chicago & North Western.
This truss is unique however. It is uncommon for a truss to cross a road. The design of the truss is also uncommon, considering the heavy skew. Because of this, there is a number of unique design features on the bridge, particularly in the portals.
Overall, the bridge is in poor condition. Much of the bottom of the bridge has serious section loss. However, much of the upper portions of the truss appear to still be in fair condition. It is hoped that the deteriorated components will be replaced, instead of a complete truss replacement.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the unique truss design.
The photo above is an overview.