UP E. Fork Sni-A-Bar Creek Bridge

Located on the east side of Wellington, this deck plate girder bridge carries the railroad over the East Fork Sni-A-Bar Creek north of Missouri Route 224. The first bridge at this location was likely a lightweight timber truss. In 1931, the Missouri Pacific undertook a realignment of this line in several locations near Wellington to improve curvature and flooding concerns. A new bridge would be constructed further downstream. This new bridge utilized a 100-foot and two 80-foot deck plate girder spans, approached by a 28-foot concrete span on either end. The entire bridge would be set onto concrete substructures. The approach spans utilize a typical Missouri Pacific design, and were referred to as concrete slabs in railroad documents. The approaches function as concrete deck girders, utilizing a monolithically cast concrete deck, girders, pier and abutment. These spans are closely related to skeleton abutments, and were used to provide greater stability on embankments. The main drawback of these spans is the labor required to cast the approaches in one continuous pour. The deck girder spans utilize a design commonly used by American railroads. The 100-foot center deck girder span is longer than average. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.