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La Crosse Trail Bridge

Through Plate Girder Bridge over La Crosse River
La Crosse, La Crosse County, Wisconsin

See this bridge and more like it at John Marvig Railroad Bridge Photography
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Name La Crosse Trail Bridge
Built By Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway
Contractor Unknown
Currently Owned By City of La Crosse
Length 215 Feet Total, 55 Foot Main Spans
Width 1 Track
Height Above Ground 6 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Type Through Girder and Trestle
Substructure Type Timber Pile
Date Fabricated Ca. 1900
Date Erected 1957
Original Location Unknown
Traffic Count 0 Trains/Day (Bridge is a Trail)
Current Status Rails to Trails
MILW Bridge Number C-530
Significance Local Significance
Documentation Date November 2013


This bridge is a little bridge over the La Crosse River near downtown La Crosse. The bridge has been referred to as a "Dinky Bridge", a reference to the size of the bridge.
Built in 1957, the bridge was built reusing two 50-foot type "C3" girder spans, set onto timber piles and approached by trestles. It is unknown where these spans came from, but they were likely fabricated around 1900.
Railroads often reused spans to save money, particularly on branch lines.
Overall, the bridge is in good condition. It was converted to trail usage in 2015.

The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is looking from downstream. The bridge can be accessed from the trail it carries.

Citations

Source Type

Source

Build Date Milwaukee Road Archives at the Milwaukee Central Library
Railroad Line History Source ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele