- 1857: 44 miles completed from Clinton to Wheatland, Iowa by the Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad
- 1858: 20 miles completed from Wheatland to Lisbon, Iowa by the Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad
- 1859: 17 miles completed from Lisbon to Cedar Rapids, Iowa by the Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad
- 1861: 41 miles completed from Cedar Rapids to Belle Plaine, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1861: 41 miles completed from Cedar Rapids to Chelsea, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1862: 29 miles completed from Chelsea to Marshalltown, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1864: 29 miles completed from Marshalltown to Nevada, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1865: 29 miles completed from Nevada to Boone, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1867: 150 miles completed from Boone to Council Bluffs, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1867: 6 miles completed from Missouri Valley to California Junction, Iowa by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad
- 1884: CI&N and CR&MR officially acquired by Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1887: 6 miles completed from Beverly to Otis, Iowa bypassing Cedar Rapids by the Linn County Railway
- 1887: Linn County Railway acquired by Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1891-98: Second track constructed between Clinton and Cedar River
- 1898-1900: Second track constructed between Cedar River and Mashalltown
- 1898-1901: New alignment completed between Boone and Ogden, Iowa; including the Des Moines River Bridge
- 1900-02: Second track constructed between Marshalltown and Council Bluffs
- 1933: Old route via Moingona between Boone and Ogden abandoned
- 1995: Chicago & North Western purchased by Union Pacific Railroad
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates the Clinton Subdivision between Clinton and Boone
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates the Boone Subdivision between Boone and Missouri Valley
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates the Omaha Subdivision between Missouri Valley and Council Bluffs
09/09/21
Built as a replacement to the original bridge, the new Kate Shelley High Bridge is an impressive structure with a modern twist on engineering.
While the bridge is more bland than its predecessor, it does have some interesting history. Some of the deck girders for the bridge were relocated from the Madrid High Bridge downstream.
These spans are set onto massive concrete towers. The bridge is five feet higher than the old bridge, and it does not contain a truss.
The bridge contains 26 main spans, set onto concrete piers. Some of the piers actually serve as towers, with a shorter deck girder span on top.
In addition, the bridge was built with prefabricated concrete girder approaches. These rest on typical pile piers.
If a severe derailment ever damaged this bridge, the old bridge would be reopened to traffic within hours.
Between these two bridges, this is one of the biggest landmarks in the State of Iowa.
For this reason, the author has ranked the bridge as being moderately significant, due to the landmark status.
However, the bridge is also modern, which reduces the significance of the bridge.
The photo above is an overview. The bridge can be accessed from Juneberry Road.
| Upstream | B&SV Des Moines River Bridge |
| Downstream | Kate Shelley High Bridge |