BNSF Platte River Bridge (La Platte)

Located between Plattsmouth and La Platte, this large truss and girder bridge carries the BNSF Railway across the Platte River, alongside the Union Pacific Bridge and US Highway 75. The first bridge here consisted of an iron through truss. In 1903, the bridge would be rebuilt with three 126-foot 6-panel pin connected Pratt through truss spans, fabricated by the King Bridge Company. The northernmost span would be replaced by a 126-foot riveted 6-panel Baltimore through truss span in 1910. The next major upgrade to the bridge occurred in 1924, when two 120-foot 6-panel riveted Pratt through truss spans were added to the north end of the bridge, and 11 60-foot deck plate girder spans and a 94-foot through plate girder span were constructed. At this time, concrete slab spans were added to east approach. The entire bridge would be set onto concrete substructures. It is believed the two truss spans were fabricated by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Company, while the girders were fabricated by American Bridge Company. The 1903 trusses of this bridge utilize a standard CB&Q design.

Large crossings like this often used components constructed at different times, due to the expensive nature of these crossings. Flooding has also been a concern since this bridge was first completed, and was likely the cause of the 1910 span being constructed. Since the 1924 construction, a number of improvements have been made to the bridge. The southern set of truss spans was strengthened with new portal bracings in approximately 1990. In 2019, flooding destroyed the original spans #4, #5 and #6. These spans were replaced by steel stringer and modular concrete slab spans. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked the bridge as being regionally significant, due to the unique combination of spans.