CBQ Republican River Bridge

Located east of Concordia, this large truss bridge sits abandoned a short distance upstream from the Republican River Pegram Truss Bridge. Built in 1905, the bridge reused three 132-foot 6-panel pin-connected Pratt through truss spans from another location. These spans were originally fabricated in 1894 by Lassig Bridge & Iron Works. When the spans were installed here, new concrete piers and abutments were constructed. The truss spans utilize a design standard to the CB&Q throughout the 1880s and 1890s, using pinned connections, laced vertical members and a frame portal. The standard portal bracing found on this bridge utilizes angular heel bracing and a solid beam. This particular portal design appears to have been a CB&Q standard, and was used on truss bridges from the 1870s through the 1890s. The trusses utilize a double jointed pin connection at the second lower connection from each end, typical of trusses from this era.

Railroads often reused spans from other locations. This provided a cost effective solution to replace bridges on branch lines. Often, when a span was inadequate for one location, it could be moved to another location, with or without repairs, and serve traffic. It appears that these spans may have been reused from one or two locations. It is currently unknown where they may have been reused from. The center span has been rehabilitated, with bolts installed on the ends and the floor rehabilitated. Locally, this bridge has also been called the "UP Crossing Bridge", a likely confusion with the Union Pacific Pegram Truss downstream. It appears that the land to the west of the bridge is privately owned, and the bridge likely is as well. However, it is clear that this is a place where people congregate, as evidenced by the trails, trash and parking lot on the east side. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration seen throughout the superstructure of the bridge. If it is feasible, this bridge would be an excellent opportunity to create a river walk or overlook by adding a pedestrian deck. The author has ranked the bridge as being regionally significant, due to the excellent historic integrity. Unfortunately, large amounts of brush obscure good photos of this bridge