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IAIS Rock Creek Bridge (Oakland Acres)

Deck Plate Girder Bridge over Rock Creek
Oakland Acres, Jasper County, Iowa

Click the Photo Above to See All Photos of This Bridge!
Name IAIS Rock Creek Bridge (Oakland Acres)
Built By Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad
Contractor (Main Span) American Bridge Company of New York
Contractor (Secondhand Girder Approaches) Lassig Bridge & Iron Works of Chicago
Currently Owned By Iowa Interstate Railroad
Length 148 Feet Total, 60 Foot Main Span
Width 1 Track
Height Above Ground 30 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Type Deck Plate Girder
Substructure Type Concrete
Date Built 1912, Using Secondhand Pieces Built 1888 and 1890
Traffic Count 5 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status In Use
IAIS Bridge Number 3098
Significance Moderate Significance
Documentation Date June 2018


Located east of Kellogg, this large deck girder bridge crosses Rock Creek.
Built in 1912 using a host of secondhand material, the bridge consists of three deck girder spans set onto concrete substructures.
The center span has a plaque giving a date of 1912, and was constructed by American Bridge Company. The east approach was constructed by Lassig Bridge & Iron Works at an unknown location in 1890 and moved here. The west approach was built in 1888 by the same builder.
In addition, the two deck girder approaches consist of four girders each, known as twinned girders. Additional plaques may exist on these approaches that were not found.
Twinned deck girder spans are rather common on railroads. The method of construction involved using a single deck girder, and adding scrap girders inside to create a doubled girder.
A lack of bridge information for the Rock Island will prevent further research from being conducted. The author is currently seeking information on the original locations of the girder approaches.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition.

The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the common design and extensive use of secondhand pieces.
The photo above is an overview.

Citations

Source Type

Source

Build Dates Various builder plaques
Contractors Various builder plaques
Railroad Line History Source ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele