- 1857: 44 miles completed from Clinton to Wheatland, Iowa by the Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad
- 1858: 20 miles completed from Wheatland to Lisbon, Iowa by the Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad
- 1859: 17 miles completed from Lisbon to Cedar Rapids, Iowa by the Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad
- 1861: 41 miles completed from Cedar Rapids to Belle Plaine, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1861: 41 miles completed from Cedar Rapids to Chelsea, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1862: 29 miles completed from Chelsea to Marshalltown, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1864: 29 miles completed from Marshalltown to Nevada, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1865: 29 miles completed from Nevada to Boone, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1867: 150 miles completed from Boone to Council Bluffs, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1867: 6 miles completed from Missouri Valley to California Junction, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1884: CI&N and CR&MR officially acquired by Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1887: 6 miles completed from Beverly to Otis, Iowa bypassing Cedar Rapids by the Linn County Railway
- 1887: Linn County Railway acquired by Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1891-98: Second track constructed between Clinton and Cedar River
- 1898-1900: Second track constructed between Cedar River and Mashalltown
- 1898-1901: New alignment completed between Boone and Ogden, Iowa; including the Des Moines River Bridge
- 1900-02: Second track constructed between Marshalltown and Council Bluffs
- 1933: Old route via Moingona between Boone and Ogden abandoned
- 1995: Chicago & North Western purchased by Union Pacific Railroad
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates the Clinton Subdivision between Clinton and Boone
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates the Boone Subdivision between Boone and Missouri Valley
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates the Omaha Subdivision between Missouri Valley and Council Bluffs
04/03/22
Located along 6th Street, one of the larger railroad bridges in Ames makes a notable appearance crossing Ioway (formerly Squaw) Creek.
Built in 1898 and erected in 1900, it replaced a two span pony truss, which was likely reused elsewhere.
The present bridge has a trio of deck girder spans. These spans continue to be the original spans built between 1898 and 1900.
The deck girder spans which make up the present bridge rest on stone substructures. By 1900, many other railroads had moved towards using concrete instead of stone. However, the C&NW regularly used stone for several years more.
Today, the bridge is well known and easily seen from 6th Street. It sits near the Iowa State University Campus.
Historic photo of the bridge. Credit to PhotoLibrarian on Flickr, used with Creative Commons permission.
As Union Pacific continues to upgrade this route, more bridges have been replaced. The author believes this structure will likely be replaced within the next 20 years.
The author has also ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview. The bridge can be accessed from the parallel road.