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Wabash Mosquito Creek Bridge

Deck Plate Girder Bridge over Mosquito Creek
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa

Click the Photo Above to See All Photos of This Bridge!
Name Wabash Mosquito Creek Bridge
Built By Wabash Railroad
Contractor American Bridge Company of New York
Currently Owned By City of Council Bluffs
Length 250 Feet Total, 62 Foot Main Span
Width 1 Track
Height Above Ground 20 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Type Deck Plate Girder and Steel Stringer
Substructure Type Timber Pile
Date Built 1934, Using an Older Deck Girder
Traffic Count 0 Trains/Day (Bridge is Abandoned)
Current Status Abandoned
NW Bridge Number 407.68
Significance Local Significance
Documentation Date October 2019


Located near I-29 and IA-92, this deck girder bridge carries the former Wabash Railroad over Mosquito Creek.
While a plaque on the approaches suggests the bridge was built 1934, the main span of the bridge may be older. The bridge features a main deck plate girder span, approached by four steel stringer spans on either side. The bridge sits on timber substructures.
The Wabash commonly used steel stringer spans in replacement of timber stringers on trestle spans, due to the durability. The main span of this bridge was likely built approximately 1900, and was probably moved here from another location.
Reportedly, the bridge was abandoned in 1984. It has been closed to traffic since, and its future unknown. A modern bridge was built in the 1990s to the southwest of this bridge, which was bypassed in 2016.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with little major deterioration.

The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.

Citations

Source Type

Source

Build Date Plaque
Contractor Plaque
Railroad Line History Source ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele