Click the photo to view the full-size version
| Name | MILW County W66 Bridge Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Bridge #I-1058 |
| Built By | Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway |
| Currently Owned By | Louisa County |
| Builder | Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company Forces |
| Length | 20 Feet Total |
| Width | 1 Track (130 Feet) |
| Height Above Ground | 12 Feet (Estimated) |
| Superstructure Design | Concrete Slab |
| Substructure Design | Concrete |
| Date Built | 1907 |
| Date Removed | 2025 |
| Traffic Count | 0 Trains/Day (Bridge has been Removed) |
| Current Status | Removed but not replaced |
| Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Bridge Number | I-1058 |
| Significance | Local Significance |
| Documentation Date | 10/22/2016 |
In 1882, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway (Milwaukee
Road) began construction on a new railroad line, extending from Cedar
Rapids, Iowa to Ottumwa, Iowa. The 40-mile line would be completed in
1884. By 1885, work was authorized to begin towards Kansas City,
Missouri; a critical railroad hub in the Midwest. The extension opened
in 1887, giving the Milwaukee Road a direct route between Chicago and
Kansas City. The Milwaukee Road acquired and constructed a large amount
of track throughout the Midwest during the 1870s and 1880s. At the
Cedar Rapids suburb of Marion, the route connected to the Milwaukee Road
mainline across Iowa. By the early 1900s, a direct connection to the
Mississippi River town of Davenport was desired, and in 1901, the
Rutledge Cutoff was completed. The cutoff extended from Rutledge, Iowa
to Muscatine, Iowa, and allowed for a quicker way to access the
Milwaukee Road facilities at Davenport, as well as shortened the travel
time and distance from Chicago to Kansas City. Between Davenport and
Muscatine, the railroad jointly owned a line with the Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific Railroad (Rock Island).
The Milwaukee Road operated this route as a principal mainline, and the line served as a primary connection between the two largest railroad hubs in the United States. The Milwaukee Road was often in financial trouble, especially after the costly Pacific Extension was completed in 1909. In 1925, the company declared bankruptcy, and reorganized as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in 1928. Significant upgrades were made to the line in the 1930s and 1940s, although the line remained single tracked. In 1930-1931, the Milwaukee Road and Rock Island reconstructed their lines from Polo, Missouri to Kansas City, abandoning much of the original line. A new bridge into Kansas City was completed in 1945, further improving operations. In 1980, the Rock Island went bankrupt, and the Milwaukee Road purchased the Davenport to Washington, Iowa line; abandoning their own line between Washington and Muscatine. By 1985, a suitor for the Milwaukee Road was being sought, and the Soo Line Railroad, controlled by Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) purchased the Milwaukee Road in 1986. In 1997, CP sold this line to I&M Rail Link, which later sold it to Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad (IC&E), a subsidiary of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad (DM&E). In 2008, DM&E and IC&E were purchased by CP. CP merged with Kansas City Southern Railway in 2023 to form CPKC, the current owner of this route. The CPKC operates the Ottumwa Subdivision between Davenport and Ottumwa, the Laredo Subdivision between Ottumwa and Laredo, Missouri; as well as the Kansas City Subdivision between Laredo and Kansas City. The route between Polo and Kansas City is shared with Union Pacific Railroad, which eventually acquired the former Rock Island line. This route now forms the principal mainline of the CPKC system, and traffic is expected to increase significantly over the coming years.
Located west of Gladwin, this concrete slab bridge once carried a former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad over County Road W66. The first bridge at this location was likely a timber pile trestle, constructed when the line was first built. During the early years of the 20th Century, the Milwaukee Road made significant upgrades to this line, replacing timber bridges with concrete and steel structures. In 1907, a new concrete underpass was constructed at this location. The bridge consisted of a 20-foot concrete slab span, set onto concrete substructures and constructed at a width of 130 feet. In addition, a small 6-foot by 6-foot concrete box culvert carried a small stream underneath the roadway. The superstructure followed a standard design, with a heavily reinforced slab with a tall headwall on the south side and no headwall on the north side. The substructure also followed a standard design, with sloped wing walls extending different lengths and directions from the bridge. Typical of concrete bridges from this era, the bridge was constructed by labor employed by the Milwaukee Road Bridge & Building Department. Concrete slab spans were popular for railroad use, as they were durable and easy to construct. The Milwaukee Road used these types of spans extensively for underpasses, and the structures were typically constructed using solid formwork and a mobile concrete plant. During the early 20th Century, the Milwaukee Road used company labor almost exclusively to construct concrete bridges and culverts, as the company found this arrangement to be more cost effective than constructing masonry by contract. After the railroad was abandoned, the bridge remained intact until it was removed in late 2025. At the time of documentation, the bridge appeared to be in fair condition, with some spalling and cracking throughout the structure. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
Citations
| Build date | Milwaukee Road Drawing Collection, located at the Milwaukee Road Archives at the Milwaukee Public Library |
| Railroad History Citation | ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele |