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| Name | CPKC Dogwood Avenue Bridge Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Bridge #I-1088 |
| Built By | Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway |
| Currently Owned By | Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited |
| Builder | Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company Forces |
| Length | 112 Feet Total, 30 Foot Main Span |
| Width | 1 Track |
| Height Above Ground | 12 Feet 0 Inches |
| Superstructure Design | Concrete Deck Girder |
| Substructure Design | Concrete |
| Date Built | 1909 |
| Traffic Count | 10 Trains/Day (Estimated) |
| Current Status | In Use |
| Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Bridge Number | I-1088 |
| Significance | Moderate Significance |
| Documentation Date | 1/27/2018 |
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 northeast of Rubio, this unique concrete girder bridge carries a former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) mainline over Dogwood Avenue. The first bridge at this location was a timber pile trestle bridge, constructed when the line was first built. In the late 1900s and early 1910s, the Milwaukee Road invested significant capital into this line, replacing timber bridges with new concrete and steel structures. In 1909, the present structure was constructed. Currently, the bridge consists of one 30-foot, three 22-foot and one 16-foot concrete deck girder spans, set onto concrete substructures. The superstructure follows a unique design, consisting of two heavy reinforced concrete girders, connected by concrete cross frames and a ballast deck. The substructures also use an unusual design, and consist of two square concrete columns connected by a transverse beam. Both the piers and abutments use this design, which is also an unusual feature of the bridge. Typical of concrete bridges from this era, the bridge was constructed by labor employed by the Milwaukee Road Bridge & Building Department.
During the late 1900s and early 1910s, railroads throughout the United States were experimenting with various reinforced concrete designs, which were intended to supersede timber and steel girder designs. The Milwaukee Road developed a handful of designs in-house, where J.H. Prior and C.F. Loweth served as the main bridge engineers for the railroad. Among the designs developed was a concrete girder design, which functioned similar to a steel deck girder. A handful of these spans were constructed between 1908 and 1911, mainly for mainline use. By 1912, the Milwaukee Road had selected a reinforced concrete slab span as the standard concrete bridge design going forward, due to the simple design, economy and versatility. It is believed one of the main drawbacks of the concrete girder design was that it had to be constructed offsite and installed on the superstructure, instead of being a monolithic structure. During the early 20th Century, the Milwaukee Road used company labor almost exclusively to construct concrete bridges and culverts, as the company found this arrangement to be more cost effective than constructing masonry by contract. Since the initial construction, the bridge has seen no significant alterations, and today remains in regular use. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with only minor spalling and cracking. The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the unusual design.
Citations
| Build date | Milwaukee Road Drawing Collection, located at the Milwaukee Road Archives at the Milwaukee Public Library |
| Railroad History Citation | ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele |