Once located in the town of Wilmington, this deck girder bridge crossed Fork Creek near Kankakee Street.
The bridge was erected in 1930, and used some secondhand components. The southern (northbound) track spans were fabricated in 1884 by the Detroit Bridge & Iron Works. These spans featured a significantly lighter design than the other spans.
It is presently unknown if the southern spans were built elsewhere. Typically, railroads would recycle spans that were in good condition, although it would be odd for such spans to be moved to a main line. The south spans were abandoned at the time of demolition.
The middle (southbound track) spans were all fabricated in 1929, and featured a standard design. The north (spur track) spans were fabricated in 1930. Because of this, it is believed that the bridge was either expanded or completely rebuilt in 1930.
Unfortunately, the spans were replaced in 2017 as part of a mass upgrade project between Chicago and Saint Louis for high speed passenger rail. Unfortunately, this upgrade destroyed dozens of historic bridges.
At the time of replacement, the bridge was in fair to poor condition. The 1884 spans were far too light to support modern freight traffic.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the 1884 spans. These spans were highly significant examples of the earliest plate girders.