Rating:
4 votes

IAIS - Ralston Creek Bridge

Johnson County, Iowa

Photos 

View from the South

Photo taken by Luke in June 2013

View this photo at 500px.com

BH Photo #256251

Map 

Facts 

Overview
Closed-spandrel arch bridge over Ralston Creek on Railroad
Location
Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1900
Railroads
- Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (CRIP (1866-1920); RI (1920-1975) ROCK (1975-1980))
- Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS)
Design
Concrete Closed-spandrel arch
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 55.0 ft.
Total length: 435.0 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+41.65332, -91.53180   (decimal degrees)
41°39'12" N, 91°31'54" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
15/622252/4612326 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Iowa City West
Inventory number
BH 53805 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Arch (12,687)
Built 1900 (958)
Built during 1900s (7,688)
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (1,164)
Closed-spandrel arch (4,270)
Deck arch (11,922)
Iowa (6,812)
Iowa City, Iowa (68)
 Iowa Interstate Railroad (194)
Johnson County, Iowa (220)
Open (41,013)
Owned by railroad (13,597)
Railroad (16,555)
Ralston Creek (22)
Span length 50-75 feet (10,478)
Total length 250-500 feet (5,560)

Update Log 

  • April 16, 2018: New photos from John Marvig
  • August 15, 2013: New photos from John Marvig
  • August 13, 2013: Updated by John Marvig: Added dimensions
  • June 15, 2013: New photos from Luke Harden
  • October 5, 2012: Updated by John Marvig: Added detail-is concrete
  • October 5, 2012: Added by Luke Harden

Sources 

Post a comment here

Comments 

IAIS - Ralston Creek Bridge
Posted October 17, 2015, by Luke

The attached 1900 map shows a spur of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern crossing Ralston to the south at Lafeyette Street, and the Rock Island bridging only Ralston.

Map source: http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/153978/Iowa+City+3/Jo...

Also Ralston Creek was historically known to flood pretty badly. For example, the Great Flood of 1881.

https://books.google.com/books?id=BfIN2L5htEwC&pg=PA444&dq=j...

IAIS - Ralston Creek Bridge
Posted October 17, 2015, by Andrew Ploessl (andrew [dot] ploessl [at] gmail [dot] com)

I wonder if this was built to accommodate the old narrow gauge railroad that used to run nearby. The old roundhouse for it still stands a couple of blocks away. Seems odd for such a structure to be built specifically for a creek that barely flows and could essentially run off towards river without affecting the integrity of the works above...