BNSF Illinois Prairie Path Bridge

Located along Illinois Route 25 south of Batavia, this unusual through plate girder bridge carries the former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad over the former Batavia Branch of the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railway. Built in 1902, the bridge consists of a 44-foot through plate girder span, set onto concrete abutments. The main span of the bridge utilizes a shallow design, consisting of two girders, with the floor positioned approximately halfway up the girders. The stringers of the span are set apart, positioned near the girders. A series of floorbeams holds the stringers and girders, and these are connected with eyebars and pinned connections. Unlike traditional open deck bridges, this structure utilizes a continuous timber deck,with the rails directly set onto the timber components. Because of these unusual features, the bridge functions mainly as a "half-through plate girder", a design sometimes used to maximize vertical clearance beneath the structure. American Bridge Company fabricated the superstructure, and it is unknown if the substructure was constructed by contract or by company forces. Girder spans were often used by railroads, due to their versatility, durability and ease of construction. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the girder design.