Historic Bridges of the U.S. | Illinois Central Railroad Overpass

Overview

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Photos

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Contextual View Of South Side Of Overpass Looking Northeast From Abandoned Overpass

The bridge carried US 20 in Ackley. US 20 was relocated about 7 miles south of town on October 7, 1991.

Photo by Bruce A. Harms, LBA; Summer 1996, for HAER

View photos at Library of Congress

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East Approach To Illinois Central Railroad Overpass Looking West

Photo by Bruce A. Harms, LBA; Summer 1996, for HAER

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West Approach And Guardrail Looking Southeast, Idot Bridge Inspection Team In Background

Photo by Bruce A. Harms, LBA; Summer 1996, for HAER

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Oblique View Of South Side Looking Northeast

Photo by Bruce A. Harms, LBA; Summer 1996, for HAER

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General View Of West Abutment And Pier Looking Northwest

Photo by Bruce A. Harms, LBA; Summer 1996, for HAER

View photos at Library of Congress

Facts

Overview

Deck plate girder bridge over Illinois Central Railroad on US 20 in Ackley

Location

Ackley, Hardin County, Iowa

History

Built 1932

Builder

- Welden Brothers Construction Co.

Design

"Designed by the Iowa State Highway Commission, the continuous steel plate girder of two asymmetrical spans is broken into two unequal lengths with an interesting detail off-center of the middle pier.

"Located on the northern edge of Ackley in the Etna Township on the county line dividing Franklin and Hardin Counties, the Illinois Central railraod tracks which were instrumental in the rapid development of Ackley...In 1932, the IC Overpass replaced an old wooden viaduct built in 1903. When it was built in 1932 the road which it carried was also upgraded from a local gavel road to a paved interstate highway. The new overpass is a continuous steel plate deck through girder 334' long. It is of unorthodox design having to fit at an acute angle to the railroad line. In terms of its construction, it represents the era's response to the demands of the speedier and heavier motor vehicles and the highways which had to be redesigned to accomodate them.

"This document was prepared as part of the Iowa Historic Bridges Recording Project performed durng the Summer of 1996 by the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER). The project was sponsored by the Iowa Department of Transportation. (IDOT). Preliminary research on this bridge was performed by Clayton B. Fraser of Fraserdesign, Loveland, CO."
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Dimensions

Total length: 224 ft.

Approximate latitude, longitude

+42.55675, -93.04566 (decimal degrees)
42°33'24" N, 93°02'44" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")

Approximate UTM coordinates

15/496251/4711595 (zone/easting/northing)

USGS topographic map

Ackley

Inventory number

BH 37361 (Bridgehunter.com ID)