Located just south of County Road C20 in Belmond, this double stone railtop culvert crosses an unnamed tributary of the East Branch Iowa River.
Built in 1898, the bridge consists of two spans of railtop culvert, set onto stone substructures. Railtop culverts were often used where an arch would not be practical, but a small stone box culvert would be too small.
In this case, it appears that the culvert was built because the railroad grade was not sufficient to build a stone arch, but the required span length was too big for a simple stone box culvert.
Oftentimes, the railtop culverts were built out of scrap rail, usually from the 1870s or 1880s. The rail was then grouted, and stone blocks installed on top.
Overall, the culvert appears to be in fair to good condition, with some deterioration but not an overly significant amount.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.