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UP W. Fork Beaver Creek Bridge (Grand Junction)

Lost Through Plate Girder Bridge over West Fork Beaver Creek
Grand Junction, Greene County, Iowa

Click the Photo Above to See All Photos of This Bridge!
Name UP W. Fork Beaver Creek Bridge (Grand Junction)
Built By Chicago & North Western Railway
Contractor Unknown
Currently Owned By Union Pacific Railroad
Length 80 Feet Total
Width 2 Tracks
Height Above Ground 10 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Type Through Plate Girder
Substructure Type Stone Masonry
Date Built 1901
Date Replaced 2017
Traffic Count 0 Trains/Day (Bridge has been replaced)
Current Status Replaced by New Bridge
UP Bridge Number 223.36
Significance Local Significance
Documentation Date (Photos 1-9) March 2013
Documentation Date (Photos 10-14) May 2017


This type of structure is rather common on this line.
Built in 1901, the bridge was damaged in 2013 when a train derailed on the bridge. Temporary repairs were later made.
The bridge consisted of a single, 80 foot long through plate girder spans.
Union Pacific has been removing these types of bridges along this line for the last several years. While this isn't the last or even near the last, it is getting there. As of March 2017, the bridge was replaced.
It is near a park put on by Greene County about the Lincoln Highway. At the time of last visit, the bridge was beginning to show signs of deterioration.

The author ranks this bridge as locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is looking from the old Lincoln Highway.

Citations

Source Type

Source

Build Date Based on double tracking of line
Railroad Line History Source ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele