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| Name | Ivy Road Trail Bridge Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Bridge #Q-224 |
| Built By | Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway |
| Currently Owned By | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |
| Superstructure Contractor | Unknown |
| Length | 160 Feet Total, 66 Foot Main Span |
| Width | 1 Track |
| Height Above Ground | 30 Feet (Estimated) |
| Superstructure Design | Deck plate girder and steel stringer |
| Substructure Design | Timber pile |
| Date Built | 1925, rebuilt 1943 |
| Original Location (66' Span) | Bridge #I-830; Fishing River Bridge; Mosby, Missouri |
| Traffic Count | 0 Trains/Day (Bridge is a Trail) |
| Current Status | Open to Trail Traffic |
| Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Bridge Number | Q-224 |
| Significance | Local Significance |
| Documentation Date | 7/21/2015 |
In 1872, the Southern Minnesota Railroad constructed 165 miles of new track in Southern Minnesota from La Crescent, Minnesota to Winnebago, Minnesota. The railroad was sold and reorganized in 1877 as the Southern Minnesota Railway. In 1878, the line would be extended an additional 138 miles to Flandreau, South Dakota by the The Southern Minnesota Railway Extension, which was controlled by the Southern Minnesota Railway beginning in 1880. In 1880, the Southern Minnesota Railway conveyed it's property to the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway. Known as the Milwaukee Road, the railroad was beginning to amass a large collection of railroads throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. The line would later be extended to Wessington Springs, South Dakota.
The Milwaukee Road operated this route as a secondary route, connecting cities and other lines in Southern Minnesota and South Dakota. 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. As the Milwaukee Road continued to face financial turmoil, branch lines began to see deteriorated conditions. By 1980, the Milwaukee Road was looking to reduce its trackage, and it abandoned this line between Ramsey and La Crescent, as well as Jackson and Flandreau. Portions of the line between Ramsey and La Crescent were purchased for trail use, and the portion of the line from Fountain to Houston was reused as the Root River State Trail. 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 2023, CP merged with Kansas City Southern Railway to form CPKC, the current operator of the Ramsey to Jackson segment of this line.
Located east of Preston, this deck plate girder bridge carries the Root River State Trail across Ivy Road and an unnamed creek. The first bridge here was likely a timber trestle. This was replaced by a 30-foot deck plate girder, approached by a 22-foot steel stringer on the east end and two 22-foot steel stringers on the west end in 1925. In 1943, a 66-foot span was relocated from Bridge #I-830 across the Fishing River at Mosby, Missouri and installed here. It is currently unknown if the other spans were relocated, or when any of the spans were fabricated. The entire bridge rests on timber substructures.
Railroads oftentimes reused steel and iron spans to save money. Often, when a bridge was too light for mainline traffic, it could be feasibly reused on a branch line, with or without alterations. 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.
Citations
| Build date and relocation information | Milwaukee Road Bridge Index, located at the Milwaukee Road Archives at the Milwaukee Public Library |
| Railroad History Citation | ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele |