First Avenue Trail - Indian Creek Bridge

Located at the former intersection of 1st Avenue and 14th Street, this through plate girder bridge carried a joint Illinois Central Railroad (IC) and Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW) industrial spur over Indian Creek. Since Council Bluffs was first settled, Indian Creek had been known for disastrous floods due to its narrow valley and small tributary area. It is unclear when the C&NW built the industrial line along 1st Avenue, and if there was a previous bridge at this location. In 1900, the IC constructed an industrial spur along 1st Avenue, and constructed a through plate girder bridge at this location. In 1912, the C&NW constructed a parallel through plate girder bridge on the south side of the IC bridge, giving the structure its present configuration. Currently, the bridge consists of two parallel single through plate girder bridges, set onto separate concrete abutments. The northern (IC) bridge consists of a 60-foot through plate girder span, while the southern (C&NW) bridge consists of a 65-foot through plate girder span. The northern span follows a standard design for the era, with two modest sized girders, rounded girder ends and a standard floor. The southern span also follows a standard design for the era, with heavier girders, rounded and tapered girder ends and a standard floor. Both abutments use a rectangular shape, which are located behind the present creek channel walls. An unknown contractor fabricated the north span superstructure, while American Bridge Company fabricated the south span superstructure. Two unknown contractors also constructed the abutments of the north and south spans. While unconfirmed, it is possible that American Bridge Works fabricated the north span superstructure and C.E.H. Campbell constructed the north span substructure. It is also possible that the south span substructure was constructed by Koss Construction Company. All of these firms were involved in constructing similar bridges over Indian Creek for the IC and C&NW and 1900 and 1912, respectively. Through plate girder spans were popular for railroad use, as they were durable and easy to construct. Since the initial construction, the bridge has seen no significant alterations. Starting in 1936, Indian Creek was channelized, and large concrete walls were constructed to contain the creek. The space between the original abutments and channel walls was then filled. The bridge was abandoned in the early 2000s, and in 2016, the south track was converted to trail use. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked the bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.