RI - Crow Creek Bridge (Fairfield)

Fairfield, Jefferson County, Iowa

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Name	RI - Crow Creek Bridge (Fairfield)
Built By	Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway
Currently Owned By	Maharishi University of Management
Contractor	Unknown (Stone Arch) Alexander-Repass Company of Des Moines, Iowa (Concrete Box Culvert)
Length	30 Feet Total (Stone Arch) 20 Feet Total, 10 Foot Spans (Concrete Box Culvert)
Width	Stone Arch - 1 Track (24 Feet) Concrete Box Culvert - 1 Track (150 Feet)
Height Above Ground	25 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Stone Arch and Concrete Box Culvert
Substructure Design	Stone Masonry and Concrete
Date Built	1881 (Stone Arch) 1944 (Concrete Box Culvert)
Traffic Count	0 Trains/Day (Bridge is Open to Pedestrian Traffic)
Current Status	Open to Pedestrian Traffic
Significance	Moderate Significance
Documentation Date	10/22/2016; 3/19/2017

In 1856, the Mississippi and Missouri Rail Road Company (M&M) constructed a 12-mile railroad line, extending from Wilton, Iowa to Muscatine, Iowa. In 1859, the line was extended an additional 35 miles to Washington, Iowa. In 1866, the M&M and the Chicago and Rock Island Rail Road Company (C&RI) merged to form the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (Rock Island). Between 1869 and 1870, the Chicago & South Western Railway (C&SW) constructed an additional 268 miles of railroad, extending from Washington, Iowa to Stillings Junction, Missouri (opposite of Leavenworth, Kansas). The C&SW became part of the Iowa Southern & Missouri Northern Railroad (IS&MN) in 1876, and the IS&MN and Rock Island were consolidated to form the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway (Rock Island) in 1880. In 1881, the Rock Island completed an additional 26 miles of railroad, extending from Davenport, Iowa to Muscatine. The Rock Island had constructed and acquired a large railroad network in the central United States during the late 19th Century. This line formed one of the principal mainlines, connecting the eastern and western portions of the system. In 1931, a new cutoff was constructed between Trenton, Missouri and Kansas City, reducing the importance of the western section of this line. The segment between Wilton and Muscatine was abandoned in 1934 in favor of the Davenport-Muscatine line. Between 1944 and 1948, almost the entire line between Washington and Centerville, Iowa was rebuilt on a new alignment. The new line instead turned southwest at Ainsworth, roughly paralleling the old route on a straighter and flatter alignment. With the exception of the line between Ainsworth and Washington and a short spur into Centerville, the entirety of the old line was abandoned.

The Rock Island struggled financially throughout much of its history, experiencing repeated bankruptcies and chronic instability. After World War II, the Rock Island struggled to survive, proposing mergers and deferring maintenance on their routes. The railroad reorganized as the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad in 1948. Further improvements were made in 1950, when portions between Centerville and Allerton, Iowa were realigned. The segment from Trenton to Stillings Junction was abandoned in approximately 1973. By the mid-1970s, the railroad was in serious decline. The railroad secured loans to eliminate slow orders, acquired new equipment, and attempted to restore profitability. Several sections of this line had fallen into serious disrepair, hampering the Rock Islands ability to maintain efficient operations. In 1978, the railroad came close to profit, but creditors were lobbying for a complete shutdown of the Rock Island. During the fall of 1979, a strike crippled the railroad, and by January of 1980, the entire system was ordered to be shut down and liquidated. Many of the lines and equipment were scrapped. Profitable sections of railroad were prepared for sale.

The segment between Davenport and Washington was sold to the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) in 1981 to replace their line between Muscatine and Washington. The segment between Allerton and Trenton was sold to the Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW) in 1981 as part of a sale for the St. Paul-Kansas City "Spine Line". A short segment southeast of Centerville was sold to the Appanoose County Community Railroad (APNC) in 1984. The remainder of the line between Ainsworth and Allerton was abandoned. In the early 1980s, both the Milwaukee Road and C&NW made improvements to deteriorated Rock Island track on their purchased segments. By 1985, a suitor for the struggling Milwaukee Road was being sought, and the Soo Line Railroad, controlled by Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) purchased the Milwaukee Road in 1986. In 1995, Union Pacific Railroad (UP) purchased the C&NW. In 2016, the APNC was purchased by the Iowa Southern Railway (ISRY), which is operated by Progressive Rail. CP merged with Kansas City Southern Railway in 2023 to form CPKC. Today, CPKC operates the Davenport to Washington segment of this line as part of the Ottumwa Subdivision; UP operates the Allerton to Trenton portion of this line as part of the Trenton Subdivision and ISRY continues to operate a short segment of track near Centerville. The remainder of the line has been reverted to adjacent landowners.

Located on the north side of Fairfield, this unusual bridge and culvert combination carries a former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (Rock Island) mainline over Crow Creek. The first bridge at this location likely consisted of a tall timber pile trestle bridge, constructed when the line was first built. In the early 1880s, the Rock Island invested significant capital into this line, filling timber trestles and constructing new stone and iron bridges. A large stone arch bridge was constructed in 1881, reportedly with significant difficulties obtaining bearing for the foundations. A newspaper blurb from November 1882 stated that cracks were already appearing in the masonry. Through the 1940s, the Rock Island undertook another major improvement project along this line, largely relocating the line between Ainsworth and the south side of Centerville. In 1944, a concrete box culvert extension was added to the west side of the bridge, and the original stone arch was abandoned. Currently, the structure consists of a massive 30-foot stone arch east portion, set onto stone substructures and constructed for one track at a width of 24 feet. The west portion consists of a double 10-foot by 10-foot concrete box culvert, constructed for one track at a 150-foot width. An unknown contractor constructed the stone arch portion, while the Alexander-Repass Company constructed the concrete box culvert portion.

The stone arch portion uses a standard design for the era, with a large semicircular arch and stepped wing walls, which extend diagonally from the bridge. The parapets have been raised with concrete, likely during a minor grade revision project in the early 20th Century. Stone for the bridge consists of a white limestone, quarried at an unknown location. Most of the stone consists of large high quality stone blocks, while the bottoms of the abutments use smaller stones. The concrete box culvert portion follows a standard mid-20th Century design, with perpendicular wing walls on the west face and a standard rectangular pier. The box culvert portion is constructed slightly under the stone portion, and much of the west face of the stone arch was filled. Both designs represent standard low maintenance designs preferred by railroads in the 19th and 20th Century, which could be easily constructed with relatively low cost materials. Since the initial construction, the structure has seen no significant alterations. After the Rock Island was abandoned, the structure changed owners a few times, ultimately ending up in the ownership of a local University. In the late 2000s, the concrete culvert portion of the structure was reused as part of the Fairfield Loop Trail. Today, the trail continues to use the concrete culvert portion, while the stone arch portion is largely abandoned. Overall, the structure appears to be in fair to good condition, although significant cracking on the northeast wing wall is visible. The author has ranked this structure as being moderately significant, due to the size of the stone arch portion. This span is likely among the largest railroad-built stone arches in Iowa.

Citations

Build date (stone arch portion)	Fairfield Ledger; November 29, 1882
Build date and builder (concrete box culvert portion)	Railway Age; Volume 116, Issue 6
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele