Beadle Park Railroad Bridge (East)

Name	Beadle Park Railroad Bridge (East) Great Northern Railway Bridge #146.0
Built By	Great Northern Railway
Currently Owned By	BNSF Railway
Superstructure Contractor	American Bridge Company of New York
Substructure Contractor	Unknown
Length	524 Feet Total, 73 Foot Largest Spans
Width	1 Track
Height Above Ground	20 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Deck Plate Girder and Concrete Modular Girder
Substructure Design	Stone Masonry and Concrete
Date Built	1924, South Span Replaced 2006
Traffic Count	2 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Great Northern Railway Bridge Number	146.0
BNSF Railway Bridge Number	146.0
Significance	Local Significance
Documentation Date	12/30/2014

In 1887, the Willmar and Sioux Falls Railway Company (W&SF) began construction on a new 147 mile railroad line between Willmar, Minnesota and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Construction would be completed by 1888. The following year, the Sioux City and Northern Railroad (SCN) Company began construction on 96 miles of new railroad, starting at Garretson, South Dakota and extending south to Sioux City, Iowa. An additional extension would be made in 1893, when the Sioux Falls, Yankton and South Western Railway Company (SFY&SW) constructed 58 miles of new railroad to Yankton, South Dakota. The SFY&SW would be sold to the W&SF in 1893, and the SCN would be sold to the W&SF in 1900. In 1907, Great Northern Railway (GN) purchased the W&SF. GN built and acquired an extensive railroad network throughout Minnesota.

GN operated this route as a mainline. The Sioux City leg of the route provided an important and competitive connection for stock yards at Sioux City to the Twin Cities. In 1970, GN merged with rival Northern Pacific Railway and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad to form Burlington Northern Railroad. The segment between Yankton and Irene was abandoned in 1981, and the segment between Irene and Sioux Falls was abandoned in 1982. BN was in turn merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996, to form BNSF Railway. BNSF currently operates the Marshall Subdivision over the Willmar to Sioux City segment of this line, and the Corson Subdivision over the Garretson to Sioux Falls segment of this line.

Located in Sioux Falls, this bridge is the eastern railroad bridge in Beadle Park. The previous bridge at this location was a three span wooden truss bridge. In 1924, that bridge would be replaced by eight deck plate girder spans, set onto concrete substructures and reusing portions of the old stone piers. The eight girders consisted of six 73-foot spans, one 54-foot span and one 32-foot span. This design of bridge was commonly used by railroads throughout the United States, as it was durable and easy to construct. In 2006, the southernmost span was replaced by a modular concrete girder span. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked the bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.

Builder and build date	American Bridge Company plaque
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele

Beadle Park Railroad Bridge (East)

Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, South Dakota