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| Name | CPKC 63rd Street Viaduct |
| Built By | Kansas City Southern Railway |
| Currently Owned By | Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited |
| Superstructure Contractor | Unknown |
| Substructure Contractor | List Construction Company of Kansas City, Missouri |
| Consulting Engineer | Ash, Howard, Needles & Tammen of Kansas City, Missouri |
| Length | 875 Feet Total, 65 Foot Longest Spans |
| Width | 1 Track |
| Height Above Ground | 110 Feet |
| Superstructure Design | Deck Plate Girder |
| Substructure Design | Steel Tower and Concrete |
| Date Built | 1928, Spans #3, #4 and #5 Replaced 2020 |
| Traffic Count | 20 Trains/Day (Estimated) |
| Current Status | In Use |
| Significance | Moderate Significance |
| Documentation Date | 10/8/2016 |
In 1891, the Kansas City, Nevada & Fort Smith Railroad (KCN&FS) completed 45 miles of new railroad, extending from Grandview, Missouri to Amoret, Missouri. Later the same year, an additional 12 miles were completed to Hume, Missouri. An additional 74 miles to Joplin, Missouri were completed in 1893, extending through Pittsburgh, Kansas. By the fall of 1893, the railroad had completed an additional 51 miles to Sulphur Springs, Arkansas. The same year, the railroad was reorganized as the Kansas City, Pittsburgh & Gulf Railroad (KCP&G). In 1894, 24 additional miles were completed to Siloam Springs, Arkansas; and an additional 24 miles to Stillwell, Oklahoma were completed in 1895. An additional 127 miles to Mena, Arkansas were completed in 1896. By 1898, a 16 mile branch line to Fort Smith, Arkansas would be constructed. To reach Kansas City, the railroad utilized trackage rights over the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. By 1900, the KCP&G would be consolidated into the Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS). The KCS was a bridge railroad, connecting railroads in the southern United States to the railroad hub of Kansas City. This line made up the principal mainline of the KCS, and provided a critical connection between the Midwest and the Gulf of Mexico. By the early 1920s, the arrangement of using the Frisco tracks into Kansas City had become undesirable, and the Kansas City & Grandview Railroad was charted to construct from Grandview to Leeds, near the present day stadium complex. The line was completed in late 1929, and gave the KCS complete ownership of a line from Kansas City to the Gulf of Mexico. During the 20th Century, the KCS continued to grow, eventually obtaining a railroad line through Mexico in the 1990s. In 2023, the KCS was merged with Canadian Pacific Railway to form CPKC, the current owner of this line. From Kansas City to Pittsburgh is currently operated as the Pittsburgh Subdivision, and from Pittsburgh to Heavener, Oklahoma is operated as the Heavener Subdivision. This route now forms the backbone of the CPKC system, and traffic is expected to increase significantly over the coming years.
View an article discussing the construction of this line.
View an article discussing the construction of this line.
Located on the south side of Kansas City, this large deck plate girder viaduct carries the CPKC mainline across the 63rd Street Trafficway and an unnamed creek. Built in 1928 as the KCS constructed the Grandview Cutoff, the bridge consists of 17 deck plate girder spans, including eight spans at 65-feet, eight tower spans at 38-feet and one 50-foot span on the south end of the bridge. The bridge is supported by steel towers, concrete abutments and concrete pedestals. In addition, the bridge utilizes a ballast deck, typical of bridges along this line. The decision to use a steel viaduct was made due to the steep terrain and cost prohibitive nature of constructing a concrete viaduct at this location. The deck plate girder viaduct was often used by railroads to cross deep ravines, as it provided a cost effective, durable and easy to construct solution for large bridges. The bridge remained relatively unchanged until 2020, when spans #3, #4 and #5 were replaced with modern spans of the same design. During the replacement, repairs were made to tower #2, which is located in the median of 63rd Street. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked the bridge as being moderately significant, due to the large size.
Citations
| Builder and build date | Engineering News-Record; Volume 104, Issue 10 |
| Railroad History Citation | ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele |