Located in Waterville, this unique girder bridge crosses Paint Creek.
Built in 1916 using a pair of relocated spans, this bridge consisted of a pair of 55' through girder spans, approached by trestles. In 2011, one of the spans was washed off the piers and set nearby in a field. It has since been scrapped.
The girder spans were originally built at Bridge #Z-318 (Byron, Illinois) in 1895, and were relocated to Bridge #Z-302 (Stillman Valley, Illinois) during a double tracking project in 1898. In 1916, the spans were reused at this bridge.
Moving old spans to routes with lighter traffic was and still is a common way for railroads to save money. The half girder design is oftentimes created out of regular through girders during times of rebuilding.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in poor condition, and suffered a collapse in 2011. It is unknown what will happen to the remaining span.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design, despite the history.
The photo above is an overview.