Rating:
7 votes

Inter-Urban Trail Bridge

Polk County, Iowa

Photos 

Interurban Trail Bridge

From West Bank

Photo taken by John Marvig in July 2012

Enlarge

BH Photo #258655

Map 

Street View 

Facts 

Overview
Pratt through truss bridge over Des Moines River on Interurban Trail
Location
Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa
Status
Open to pedestrians
History
Built 1905, Abandoned 1982; Converted to trail use 1998, repaired 2012
Railroads
- Chicago & North Western Railway (CNW)
- Des Moines & Central Iowa Railway (DCI; DMCI)
- Interurban
- Rail-to-trail
Design
1 Span I-Beam (Non Authentic)
4 - 127' Pratt Through Truss Spans
4 Spans Trestle (non authentic)
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 127.0 ft.
Total length: 615.0 ft.
Also called
DCI - Des Moines River Bridge
Wakonsa Bridge (Old Nickname)
Wakonsa Bridge (Old Nickname)
ITU - Des Moines River Bridge
Inter-Urban Trail - Des Moines River Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+41.62444, -93.64443   (decimal degrees)
41°37'28" N, 93°38'40" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
15/446317/4608280 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Des Moines SW
Inventory number
BH 49355 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Beam (12,773)
Built 1905 (738)
Built during 1900s (6,434)
Chicago & North Western Railway (1,192)
Des Moines & Central Iowa Railway (15)
Des Moines River (225)
Des Moines, Iowa (113)
Have street view (23,567)
Interurban (820)
Iowa (5,943)
Open to pedestrians (3,651)
Owned by city (4,664)
 Pin-connected (3,492)
Polk County, Iowa (244)
Pratt through truss (4,690)
Pratt truss (8,166)
Rail-to-trail (1,337)
Railroad (13,689)
Span length 125-175 feet (3,843)
Through truss (13,148)
Timber stringer (3,413)
Total length 500-1000 feet (2,565)
Truss (29,821)

Update Log 

  • April 4, 2014: New Street View added by Luke Harden
  • July 4, 2013: Updated by John Marvig: Corrected Build Date-Bridge was built 1905, NOT 1902
  • June 21, 2013: New photo from Michael O'Brien
  • June 12, 2013: New photo from Michael O'Brien
  • December 9, 2012: Updated by John Marvig: trestle approaches replaced this fall
  • October 21, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Added category "Interurban"
  • July 22, 2012: Updated by John Marvig: Added information after seeing up close
  • July 2, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Added abandonment date to history
  • June 26, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Added category "Des Moines & Central Iowa Railroad "
  • May 11, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Added categories "Rail-to-trail", "Des Moines & Central Iowa Railroad "
  • August 15, 2011: Added by Luke Harden

Sources 

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Comments 

Interurban Trail Bridge
Posted July 4, 2013, by John Marvig (johnmarvig [at] chaska [dot] net)

Photos #70 and #71 are incorrectly placed. Note the difference in portal bracing. These belong on this page.

http://bridgehunter.com/ia/polk/bh54303/

Interurban Trail Bridge
Posted December 9, 2012, by John Marvig (johnmarvig [at] chaska [dot] net)

http://www.bikeiowa.com/News/5623/inter-urban-trail-bridge-c...

Repaired recently, including the replacement of the trestle approaches. Looking at the westernmost pier, I can see why the piers were repaired.