BNSF Sugar Creek Bridge (Viele)

Located near the former station of Viele, this through truss bridge carries a former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad mainline over Sugar Creek. Much of the history of this bridge is unclear. The first bridge at this location was likely a wooden truss bridge, constructed when the line was first built. In the early 20th Century, the CB&Q invested significant capital into this line, replacing many of the timber bridges with new steel structures. In 1904, a new through truss span was installed on timber pile piers, with timber pile trestle approaches. That bridge remained until 1924, when the bridge was apparently reconstructed with a heavier truss span, set onto new concrete piers and retaining timber pile approaches. Currently, the bridge consists of a 126-foot, 6-panel, riveted Baltimore through truss span, approached by a lengthy timber pile trestle approach on the west (railroad south) end and a shorter approach on the east end. The truss span is set onto concrete piers, while the approaches are set onto timber pile bents. Several truss spans were constructed along this line in 1904, and all consist of pin-connected Pratt through truss spans. It is unclear why the bridge would have been rebuilt with a new span of the same size. An identical span in Holt County, Missouri was apparently constructed in 1910, leading to the possibility this span is indeed from 1904. An unknown contractor fabricated the main span, and it is unclear if the concrete piers were constructed by railroad company forces or by an unknown contractor. The timber components were constructed by railroad company forces. A missing plaque on the main span consists of a rectangular shape with four mounting holes, although this plaque shape and mounting pattern is unidentified.

The truss span consists of a heavily constructed span, with extensive built-up members, an unusual floor system and a standard CB&Q-style portal bracing. The top chord and endposts both consist of heavily built-up members, composed of a box-shaped beam connected by heavy V-lacing on the bottom and a solid plate on top. The bottom chord is similarly composed, but uses V-lacing on both sides. All vertical and diagonal members consist of V-laced beams, which use a couple of slightly different designs. The floor system is unusual, with six shallow stringers arranged into two sets of three supported by plate girder floorbeams. In addition, an extra stringer is present on either side of the main floor, and the purpose of this stringer is unclear. The portal bracing consists of a solid beam, with angled bars forming the heel bracing. The sway bracing uses V-laced beams, with angled bars at the ends. Both the upper and lower lateral bracing are formed from L-shaped bars. The approaches use a standard design, with typical bents and a ballast deck. Both piers use a standard rectangular shape, and appear to be founded on timber piles. The Baltimore truss design was developed in the early 1890s as an alternative to an obsolete Whipple truss design, and was mainly used for exceptionally long spans. The CB&Q seems to have began using riveted Baltimore spans in 1904 or 1905, particularly for short or unusual spans. Since the initial construction, the bridge has seen no significant alterations, and remains in regular use. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the truss design and unclear history.