In 1853, the line was extended another 119 Miles to Geneseo, about 20 miles from the Mississippi River. This section crossed the Des Plaines River at Joliet and Fox River at Ottawa, and followed the Illinois River.
The remaining section of line was built in 1854, and went up to the Mississippi River.
The first railroad to reach west of the Mississippi was this one, as a swing bridge was built to cross the Mississippi in 1856.
However, the bridge became infamous for an accident in which the bridge collapsed after being struck by a boat. The lawyer who defended the young railroad? Abraham Lincoln, who would eventually become 16th president of the country.
The railroad renamed in 1880 to the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, also known as the Rock Island.
The railroad operated this line heavily, extending it through Iowa towards Nebraska and the pacific. The line was the backbone of the railroad.
However, despite the seemed success of the railroad, it eventually began to fail. By 1980, the railroad fell to bankruptcy and abandoned all their property.
This line was purchased by the Iowa Interstate Railroad west of Ottawa, and CSX Railroad east of Ottawa to Joliet. Metra currently uses the Chicago to Joliet portion, for their Rock Island District.
Today, much of the line has been upgraded from the poor conditions it was at in 1980. It is operated as the CSX New Rock Subdivision east of Ottawa to Joliet.
West of Ottawa to Davenport, it is operated as the 1st Subdivision of the Iowa Interstate Railroad.
06/26/21
Located in the city of Joliet, this girder bridge crosses Eastern Avenue at the intersection of Washington Street.
Built in 1909, the bridge features three spans of through plate girder, set onto concrete and steel substructures. The bridge has a ballasted deck and built up pier members.
The only major upgrade to the bridge was the replacement of the northern (Rock Island) spans in the early 2000s with a very similar design.
Structures like these were common for grade separations, as they were easy to construct and were fairly cheap.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition. This historic segment of the bridge has also been rehabilitated with new paint and slight fixes.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.