IR Fox River Bridge (Montgomery)

Located on the south side of Montgomery, this deck plate girder bridge carries the former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad over the Fox River and Illinois Route 25. The first bridge at this location likely consisted of a wooden through truss structure, supported by stone substructures. It is unknown if this bridge was replaced by an iron truss structure in the 1880s. In 1903, the bridge would be reconstructed with new deck plate girder spans, set onto concrete substructures. The original stone substructures would be reconstructed and capped with concrete. Further alterations were made to the bridge in 1938, when a steel stringer span and concrete piers were added on the south end of the bridge to cross Illinois Route 25. While the bridge was initially approached by timber pile trestle on either end, the south approach was replaced by modular concrete girder spans in approximately 2000, giving the bridge its current configuration.

Currently, the bridge consists of four 78-foot deck plate girder spans, approached by a 45-foot steel stringer span on the south end. Concrete modular girder spans approach the steel spans on the south end, and timber pile trestle spans approach the bridge on the north end. The bridge runs at a slight skew, and is set onto a combination of stone, concrete, timber pile and steel pile substructures. King Bridge Company fabricated the deck girder spans, while the south approach was fabricated by American Bridge Company. It is believed that the concrete river piers were constructed by railroad forces, while the piers for the Route 25 spans were constructed by an unknown contractor. This design 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 the bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.