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| Name | CPKC Titus Avenue Bridge Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Bridge #I-810 |
| Built By | Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway |
| Currently Owned By | Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited |
| Superstructure Contractor | Unknown |
| Length | 50 Feet Total, 25 Foot Main Span |
| Width | 1 Track |
| Height Above Ground | 11 Feet 2 Inches |
| Superstructure Design | Deck Plate Girder and Concrete Box Culvert |
| Substructure Design | Concrete |
| Date Built | 1903 Using Girders Fabricated c. 1895, Concrete Box Culvert Added 1904 |
| Original Location | Unknown |
| Traffic Count | 10 Trains/Day (Estimated) |
| Current Status | In Use |
| Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Bridge Number | I-810 |
| Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited Bridge Number | 476.35 |
| Significance | Local Significance |
| Documentation Date | 11/9/2019 |
In 1882, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway (Milwaukee Road) began construction on a new railroad line, extending from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Ottumwa, Iowa. The 40-mile line would be completed in 1884. By 1885, work was authorized to begin towards Kansas City, Missouri; a critical railroad hub in the Midwest. The extension opened in 1887, giving the Milwaukee Road a direct route between Chicago and Kansas City. The Milwaukee Road acquired and constructed a large amount of track throughout the Midwest during the 1870s and 1880s. At the Cedar Rapids suburb of Marion, the route connected to the Milwaukee Road mainline across Iowa. By the early 1900s, a direct connection to the Mississippi River town of Davenport was desired, and in 1901, the Rutledge Cutoff was completed. The cutoff extended from Rutledge, Iowa to Muscatine, Iowa, and allowed for a quicker way to access the Milwaukee Road facilities at Davenport, as well as shortened the travel time and distance from Chicago to Kansas City. Between Davenport and Muscatine, the railroad jointly owned a line with the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (Rock Island).
The Milwaukee Road operated this route as a principal mainline, and the line served as a primary connection between the two largest railroad hubs in the United States. The Milwaukee Road was often in financial trouble, especially after the costly Pacific Extension was completed in 1909. In 1925, the company declared bankruptcy, and reorganized as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in 1928. Significant upgrades were made to the line in the 1930s and 1940s, although the line remained single tracked. In 1930-1931, the Milwaukee Road and Rock Island reconstructed their lines from Polo, Missouri to Kansas City, abandoning much of the original line. A new bridge into Kansas City was completed in 1945, further improving operations. In 1980, the Rock Island went bankrupt, and the Milwaukee Road purchased the Davenport to Washington, Iowa line; abandoning their own line between Washington and Muscatine. By 1985, a suitor for the Milwaukee Road was being sought, and the Soo Line Railroad, controlled by Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) purchased the Milwaukee Road in 1986. In 1997, CP sold this line to I&M Rail Link, which later sold it to Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad (IC&E), a subsidiary of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad (DM&E). In 2008, DM&E and IC&E were purchased by CP. CP merged with Kansas City Southern Railway in 2023 to form CPKC, the current owner of this route. The CPKC operates the Ottumwa Subdivision between Davenport and Ottumwa, the Laredo Subdivision between Ottumwa and Laredo, Missouri; as well as the Kansas City Subdivision between Laredo and Kansas City. The route between Polo and Kansas City is shared with Union Pacific Railroad, which eventually acquired the former Rock Island line. This route now forms the principal mainline of the CPKC system, and traffic is expected to increase significantly over the coming years.
Located on the north side of Excelsior Springs, this small deck girder bridge carries the former Milwaukee Road across Titus Avenue. Constructed in 1903 to replace a timber pile trestle, the bridge consists of a single 25-foot deck plate girder span, set onto concrete substructures. The west abutment of the bridge was modified in 1904, when a 16-foot x 8-foot concrete box culvert was constructed behind it to serve as a cattle pass. The deck girder span utilizes a standard Milwaukee Road design for a shallow girder, and also utilizes a ballast deck. The main span of the bridge uses four girder lines, a technique occasionally used by railroads when reusing old spans. Blueprints located at the Milwaukee Road Archives at the Milwaukee Central Library indicate that this bridge was initially built with a twinned girder span. Often, when a girder bridge became inadequate at one location, the plate girders could be incorporated into another bridge. Known as "twinning", the girders were reconstructed with new bracings to form a stronger span. The girders on this bridge appear to date to approximately 1895. It is currently unknown where the girders may have been reused from. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition. Various repairs, including new plates on the bottom of the girders, were made in approximately 2018. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
Citations
| Build date | Date stamp |
| Railroad History Citation | ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele |