Located just west of Bristow, this large arch bridge carries the future Rolling Prairie Trail over Boylan Creek.
Little is known about the history of the bridge. It is known that the previous bridge was a deck truss, rebuilt in the early 1890s.
It is unknown when that bridge was replaced. It is possible it was replaced by a double stone arch, and later encased in concrete. However, the author sees evidence that a double concrete arch bridge was built between 1905 and 1910, using the previous stone abutments.
It also appears that the arches rest directly on the older stone abutments.
Because the CGW did significant stone arch building between 1898 and 1900, the quality and type of stonework is well known. The exposed stone on this bridge appears to be a much lower quality stone, cut into smaller blocks. Because of this, the author believes the bridge is actually a concrete arch. In addition, railroad documents identify it as such.
Unfortunately, CGW arches are prone to failure, regardless of if they used stone or concrete. This arch has seen several repairs, including the original encasement of the stone abutments, the 1980s addition of corrugated pipe, and the addition of a railroad tie to hold up the pipe on the east arch.
Despite several repairs, the arch is still in serious condition. The eastern arch is beginning to fail, and the metal holding up the interior of the arch has pulled away. Much of the concrete repairs to the stonework have fallen away as well. Without significant repairs, this bridge will eventually fail, like so many other CGW arches.
The future for the structure is cloudy. The Rolling Prairie Trail runs in two disconnected segments, including between Bristow and Shell Rock; and Dumont to Hampton. This bridge, and the West Fork Cedar River Bridge to the west appear to be the main hurdles to completing the trail.
The author has ranked the bridge as being moderately significant, due to the large design.
The photo above is an overview.