Located just west of Madrid, this large concrete arch bridge carries the High Trestle Trail over Murphy Creek.
Built 1912-3 as the railroad continued to reconstruct this line, this arch follows a standard egg shaped design for this route. It is one of the larger arches along this route. A massive fill was built over the arch, and at one time, a temporary trestle carried work trains over the existing mainline, which a driveway south of the arch now occupies.
Construction of this culvert was well documented in Railway Review Volume 54 from March 21st 1914. An example of the construction process can be seen in the photos below:
Showing the movable formwork used in constructing this bridge
Showing the finished arch before the fill was constructed, and the temporary trestle
In 2011, the bridge was rehabilitated with a corrugated pipe lining and encasement of the portals. Unfortunately, this covered up the date stamp on the bridge.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition, with no significant defects noted.
The author has rated this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.