NS Sugar Creek Bridge (Bloomington)

Name	NS Sugar Creek Bridge (Bloomington) Lake Erie & Western Railroad Bridge #920
Built By	New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad
Currently Owned By	Norfolk Southern Railway
Superstructure Contractor	Unknown
Substructure Contractor	Unknown
Length	60 Feet Total
Width	1 Track
Height Above Ground	10 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Deck Plate Girder
Substructure Design	Stone Masonry and Concrete
Date Built	1950
Traffic Count	2 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Lake Erie & Western Railroad Bridge Number	920
	376.84
Significance	Local Significance
Documentation Date	11/6/2022; 4/2/2023

In 1872, the LaFayette, Muncie and Bloomington Railroad (LM&B) constructed 36 miles of new railroad, extending from Lafayette, Indiana to the Illinois/Indiana State Line. At the same time, the LaFayette, Bloomington and Mississippi Railway (LB&M) constructed an additional 80 miles of railroad to Bloomington, Illinois. The two railroads would be reorganized into the Lake Erie and Western Railway Company in 1879. The railroad would be reorganized as the Lake Erie and Western Railroad (LE&W) in 1887, and the following year completed a 36 mile extension from Bloomington to Peoria, Illinois.

The LE&W had acquired a modest railroad network, with several lines throughout Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. This line served as the mainline for the railroad, connecting Lake Erie at Sandusky, Ohio to the Illinois River at Peoria. The LE&W came under the control of the New York Central Railroad (NYC) in 1900, and was sold to the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate) in 1922. This line served as a secondary line for the Nickel Plate, running roughly parallel to the Nickel Plate line between Lake Erie and St. Louis. In 1964, the Nickel Plate merged with the Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W), which merged with the Southern Railway in 1982 to form Norfolk Southern Railway (NS). NS abandoned the segment between Gibson City and Cheneyville in 1986, and sold the Cheneyville to Lafayette segment to the Kankakee, Beaverville & Southern Railroad (KBSR) in 1991. Today, NS continues to operate the Bloomington District between Peoria and Gibson City, and the KBSR continues to operate the Cheneyville to Lafayette section.

Located on the west side of Bloomington, this deck girder bridge carries the former Nickel Plate over Sugar Creek along White Oak Road. The first bridge at this location was likely a timber pile trestle. In 1896, the bridge would be replaced with a new 60-foot deck plate girder span, set onto stone abutments. This bridge was fabricated by King Bridge Company, and was constructed at a time when the Lake Erie & Western Railroad was making significant improvements to this line. In the late 1940s, the Nickel Plate invested significant capital into upgrading bridges along this line, installing a number of girder spans between 1947 and 1950. In 1950, the bridge would be replaced by the current structure . Currently, the bridge consists of a 60-foot deck plate girder span, set onto stone and concrete abutments. The original stone abutments were encased and repaired during the reconstruction of the bridge. The girder uses a standard design, with a heavy concrete ballast deck. This type of bridge was commonly used by railroads, as it was durable and easy to construct. 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.

Build date	Physical Data and Other Information of Interest; Lake Erie and Western District (1954), courtesy of the Nickel Plate Archive
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele

NS Sugar Creek Bridge (Bloomington)

Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois