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M&StL Mississippi River Bridge

Mercer County, Illinois, and Louisa County, Iowa
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Photos 

Looking upstream from Keithsburg, IL

Photo taken by Nathan Morton in Aug. 07

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Description 

The bridge was constructed for the Iowa Central in 1909. The IC was bought by the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad (M&StL) in 1910, which was subsequently purchased by the Chicago & Northwestern (CNW) in 1960. Rail traffic across the bridge was discontinued in 1971 when the line was abandoned by the CNW. The vertical lift section was locked in the up /open position until the lift portion was accidentally destroyed by fireworks and the ensuing fire on June 30, 1981. The 220 ft lift section fell into the river blocking river traffic on the main channel of the Mississippi River for more than a week until it was removed by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Facts 

Overview
Vertical lift bridge that carried the M&StL across the Mississippi River at Keithsburg
Location
Keithsburg, Mercer County, Illinois, and Louisa County, Iowa
Status
Abandoned
History
Built 1909; Abandoned 1971; Partially lost to fire in 1981
Builder
- Waddell & Harrington
Design
Pratt through truss
Dimensions
Total length: 2,302.0 ft. (0.4 mi.)
Approximate latitude, longitude
+41.10524, -90.95219   (decimal degrees)
41°06'19" N, 90°57'08" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
15/671955/4552460 (zone/easting/northing)
Elevation
528 ft. above sea level
USGS topographic map
Keithsburg
Inventory number
BH 38051 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Abandoned (1,372)
Built 1909 (474)
Built during 1900s (4,246)
Chicago & North Western Railway (470)
Illinois (2,499)
Iowa (3,503)
Iowa Central Railway (4)
Keithsburg, Illinois (3)
Lost 1981 (20)
Lost during 1980s (436)
Louisa County, Iowa (29)
Mercer County, Illinois (13)
Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway (82)
Mississippi River (155)
 Movable (1,355)
Navigable waterway (1,448)
Owned privately (543)
Pratt through truss (3,165)
Pratt truss (5,658)
Railroad (4,070)
Skewed (4,080)
State line crossing (513)
Through truss (9,205)
Total length 1000-2500 feet (1,213)
Truss (23,568)
Vertical lift (275)
Waddell & Harrington (18)

Update Log 

  • March 18, 2013: Updated by John Marvig: Added information
  • August 9, 2012: Updated by Daniel Hopkins: Added category "Railroad"
  • July 27, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Paraphrased history and moved it ito the description box, added exact historical dates
  • March 22, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Added category "Chicago & North Western Railway"
  • April 25, 2009: Updated by Curtis Lee
  • March 14, 2009: Updated by Curtis Lee: Added coordinates and elevation.
  • November 10, 2008: Added by Nathan Morton

Sources 

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Comments 

Keithsburg Rail Bridge
Posted November 5, 2009, by Miles W. Rich (milesrich [at] yahoo [dot] com)

This bridge never belonged to the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad. While the CRI&P controlled M&StL during the early 20th century, this bridge was built as stated below by the Iowa Central. In 1960, the Chicago and Northwestern purchased the M&StL, which had absorbed the Iowa Central many years before. This bridge was part of the M&StL's Peoria Gateway mainline that routed freight traffic from the north and west away from the Chicago area. The Northwestern abandoned the line and the bridge in 1970. There were plans to use it again until the vandals set fire to the lift draw span. The Rock Island's bridge across the Mississippi River is owned by the Federal Government, and is a dual purpose bridge that crosses the river at Davenport, Iowa onto the Arsenal Island at Rock Island, IL. It is now used by the Iowa Interstate Railroad as well as vehicle traffic.