With the Platte River being such a wide and shallow stream, railroads building across it required long bridges that could be built with small span lengths.
The first bridge here was built in 1885, and contained six Howe Trusses, along with several thousand feet of trestling.
A new bridge would be built with 28 deck girder spans fabricated in 1899, but installed in 1901. This new bridge rested on timber piers, protected by cribbing.
In 1912, washouts to this bridge undermined several timber piers, requiring the complete reconstruction of the bridge.
It took until 1915 for construction on a permanent solution to begin. It was first noted that the Platte River main channels tended to be closer to the banks, forming two main channels.
As a response, new the bridge would get three new spans at each end of the river, and 13 deck girders would be salvaged from the old bridge.
The process resulted in the shifting of the bridge by 14 feet upstream of the old bridge. It took between 20 and 45 minutes for a derrick to move each span to the new bridge.
The whole process took under 34 hours. More about this project can be read at here. The remaining 15 spans likely were relocated to other points around the CB&Q system.
What makes the bridge unique is the shape of the piers. The round piers are less susceptible to scour and flooding damage.
Overall, the bridge remains in good condition. In addition to the 19 deck girder spans, concrete slab spans were also constructed at each end. These slab spans were pre-fabricated offsite at Havelock, Nebraska and moved here.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the engineering of the structure.
The photo above is an overview. The bridge can be accessed from US-6, which runs parallel.
| Upstream | Valley Rail Bridge |
| Downstream | Rock Island Platte River Bridge |