Union Pacific Railroad Bridge #65.53

Saltillo, Lancaster County, Nebraska

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Name	Union Pacific Railroad Bridge #65.53
Built By	Union Pacific Railroad
Currently Owned By	Lancaster County
Superstructure Contractor	Unknown
Length	80 Feet Total, 20 Foot Spans
Width	1 Track
Height Above Ground	5 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Steel Stringer
Substructure Design	Steel Pile
Date Built	c. 1960
Traffic Count	0 Trains/Day (Bridge is a Trail)
Current Status	Open to Trail Traffic
Union Pacific Railroad Bridge Number	65.53
Significance	Minimal Significance
Documentation Date	1/27/2017

Between 1876 and 1877, the Omaha and Republican Valley Railroad (O&RV) constructed a new railroad line between Fremont and Valparaiso, Nebraska. The line would be extended to Lincoln in 1880, and to Beatrice in 1884. The railroad was reorganized as the Omaha and Republican Valley Railway in 1887, which was sold to the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) between 1893 and 1898. UP had constructed and acquired a large amount of lines throughout the western United States, and was best known for completing the First Transcontinental Railroad. This route served as a secondary line for the UP, connecting several branch lines throughout southern Nebraska and Kansas. The route continued to be operated by Union Pacific until 2001, when the segment south of Lincoln was abandoned. This segment has since been turned into the Jamaica North Trail and the Homestead Trail. Union Pacific operates the remaining segment between Lincoln and Fremont as the Lincoln Subdivision.

Located south of the small town of Saltillo, this small steel stringer bridge carries the Homestead Trail across an unnamed drainage ditch. Built in approximately 1960 to replace a timber trestle, the bridge consists of four 20-foot steel stringer spans, set onto steel pile substructures. These steel stringer spans were commonly used by Union Pacific in the 1950s and 1960s to replace timber trestles, as they were durable and easy to construct. Typical to these steel stringer spans, this bridge utilizes a ballasted deck. Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being minimally significant, due to the common design.