BNSF Kill Creek Bridge (South)

Name	BNSF Kill Creek Bridge (South) Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Bridge #10.8
Built By	Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
Currently Owned By	BNSF Railway
Superstructure Contractor	American Bridge Company of New York (Center Span) Unknown (East and West Spans)
Length	185 Feet Total, 42 Foot Main Span
Width	1 Track
Height Above Ground	20 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Deck Plate Girder and Steel Stringer
Substructure Design	Steel Pile and Timber Pile
Date Built	1942, Using Spans Fabricated 1940 and c. 1900
Traffic Count	5 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Bridge Number	10.8
BNSF Railway Bridge Number	10.8
Significance	Local Significance
Documentation Date	1/27/2017

In 1865, the St. Louis, Lawrence and Denver Railroad (StLL&D) completed a 17 mile railroad, extending from Lawrence, Kansas to DeSoto, Kansas. In 1869, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad (ATSF) constructed 27 miles from Topeka, Kansas to Burlingame, Kansas; and the following year, an additional 34 miles to Emporia were completed. In 1871, the Lawrence and Topeka Railway (L&T) completed an additional 22 miles from Lawrence to Topeka, Kansas. In 1874, the StLL&D was reorganized as the St. Louis, Lawrence & Western Railroad (StLL&W). In 1875, both railroads were conveyed to the Kansas City, Topeka & Western Railroad (KCT&W). The same year, the KCT&W completed an additional 23 miles between DeSoto and the Kansas City Union Station. The KCT&W would be leased by the ATSF in 1880. The ATSF changed its name to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) in 1895, and the KCT&W was consolidated into the ATSF in 1899. The ATSF had acquired and constructed a large number of railroad lines throughout the western United States, particularly in Kansas and Oklahoma. This line served as one of two mainlines connecting Kansas City to Emporia. The ATSF would merge with Burlington Northern Railroad in 1996 to form BNSF Railway, the current owner of this line. The Holliday to Topeka to Emporia segment of this line is operated as the Topeka Subdivision.

Located in De Soto, this deckgirder bridge is the southern of two parallel bridges over Kill Creek. Originally, the bridge at this location was a single track structure. To double track this bottleneck, a second parallel bridge was constructed in 1942. The bridge consists of a single 42-foot "Class A" deck plate girder span, approached by a 32-foot deck plate girder span on either end. The bridge was originally approached by timber stringer spans, but was upgraded in approximately 1998 with steel stringer spans. The bridge sits on timber and steel pile substructures. The center span was originally fabricated in 1940 by American Bridge Company. The western span is a "Class A" span, and the eastern span is a twinned "Class B" span. Girder spans were often strengthened by using additional girder lines, as is evidenced by the eastern span. The east and west spans appear to have originally been fabricated in approximately 1900, and relocated to this location. 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 common design.

Citations

Build date	Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Bridge Records; Part of Railroad & Heritage Museum Fred M. and Dale M. Springer Archive; Temple, Texas
Builder	American Bridge Company plaque
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele

BNSF Kill Creek Bridge (South)

De Soto, Johnson County, Kansas