UP US-24 Bridge (Bartonville)

Bartonville, Peoria County, Illinois

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Missing plaque, Kickapoo Creek Road portion

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Name	UP US-24 Bridge (Bartonville) Chicago & North Western Railway Bridge #1707
Built By	Chicago & North Western Railway
Currently Owned By	Union Pacific Railroad
Superstructure Contractor	King Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio (1912 Spans) Unknown (1987 Spans)
Substructure Contractor	Cleary-White Construction Company of Chicago, Illinois (1912 Spans) Unknown (1987 Spans)
Length	350 Feet Total, 58 Foot Largest Span
Width	1 Track
Height Above Ground	15 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Deck Plate Girder, Through Plate Girder and Steel Stringer
Substructure Design	Concrete and Steel Bent
Date Built	1912, Extended 1987
Traffic Count	2 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Chicago & North Western Railway Bridge Number	1707
Union Pacific Railroad Bridge Number	81.60
Significance	Local Significance
Documentation Date	4/2/2023

In 1890, the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railroad (CP&StL) completed 44 miles of new railroad from Madison, Illinois to Litchfield, Illinois. The railroad became part of the Litchfield & Madison Railway (L&M) in 1900. In 1901, the Peoria & Northwestern Railway (P&NW) completed 83 miles of railroad, extending from the existing Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW) mainline at Nelson, Illinois to Peoria, Illinois. The P&NW was a subsidiary of the C&NW, and would be fully absorbed by 1902. In 1904, the Macoupin County Railway (MCR) constructed an additional 24 miles from Benld, Illinois to Girard, Illinois. The MCR was acquired by the St. Louis, Peoria & Northwestern Railway (StLP&NW) in 1912. The StLP&NW was another C&NW subsidiary, and constructed an additional 93 miles from Kickapoo (Peoria) to Benld in 1913 before being sold to the C&NW. The same year, the Macoupin County Extension Railway (MCER) completed an additional 3 miles from Girard to Staunton, Illinois before being acquired by the C&NW in 1914. In 1927, the C&NW constructed an additional 2.5 miles to DeCamp, where the line met the L&M. The C&NW obtained trackage rights over the L&M to reach Madison at the same time. This route provided the C&NW with a direct source of quality coal, and connected to other railroads throughout southern Illinois.

The C&NW would become a prominent railroad in the Midwest, eventually building a system over 11,000 miles long. The L&M would be acquired by the C&NW in 1957, and the C&NW would abandon the line from Mt. Olive to Litchfield in 1961, and from DeCamp to Mt. Olive in 1972. By the late 20th Century, this route slowly had lost importance. In 1995, the C&NW would be purchased by the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). UP abandoned the line between DeCamp and Stallings in 1998, as well as the segment from Barr to Girard. In addition, the DeCamp to Monterey Junction segment was sold to the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) in 1998. Today, UP operates the Peoria Subdivision between Nelson and Barr, and NS operates the Monterey Branch from Monterey Junction to DeCamp. Portions of the line near Springfield have become part of the Sangamon Valley Trail. When complete, the trail will connect Girard to Athens (Barr).

View historic articles discussing the construction of this line (digitalized by Internet Archive)

Located near Interstate 474 in Bartonville, this large girder bridge carries the former Chicago & North Western Railway over Kickapoo Creek Road and US Route 24. Originally constructed in 1912, the bridge initially consisted of four deck plate girder spans over present day Kickapoo Creek Road. As part of a large roadway improvement project, the bridge was extended south to cross US Route 24 with four additional through plate girder spans in 1987. Currently, the bridge consists of two distinct sections. The northern section across Kickapoo Creek Road consists of four 35-foot deck plate girder spans, set onto concrete abutments and steel bent piers. The south abutment has been largely excavated, and a 16-foot steel stringer span installed to connect the two sections. The south section across US Route 24 consists of a 34-foot, two 58-foot and a 43-foot through plate girder spans, set onto concrete substructures.

King Bridge Company fabricated the superstructure of the northern portion, while an unknown contractor fabricated the superstructure of the south portion. Cleary-White Construction Company constructed the substructures of the north portion, while an unknown contractor constructed the substructures of the south portion. The deck plate girder spans appear to use a standard shallow design, and use a ballast deck consisting of sheet metal and I-beams. It is believed the original deck of this bridge was constructed of precast concrete panels. The abutments for this portion were constructed for two tracks, although a second track was never installed. The through plate girder spans use a welded and bolted design, with rounded and tapered ends and a ballast floor consisting of parallel I-beams. The substructures appear to be a standard 1980s-era Illinois Department of Transportation design. Both through and deck plate girder spans were popular with railroads, as they were durable and easy to construct. 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

Builders and build date (Kickapoo Creek Road spans)	Railway Age Gazette; Volume 56 Issue 21
Build date (US Route 24 spans)	National Bridge Inventory (NBI)
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele