200th Avenue Overpass

Photo

BH Photo #270777

Map

Maps and Databases

Street View

Description

In the 1930s the Iowa State Highway Commission designed a handful of steel arch structures to function as grade separations in various locations in the state. One of these structures was this overpass over the Burlington Northern Railroad in central Lucas County. For this crossing the commission in 1936 drew up a single-span, three-hinge arch supported by concrete arch pedestals. The highway commission designated the project WPGS-620 and let a contract for its construction to Ben Cole and Son of Ames, Iowa. The overpass was completed and accepted by the highway commission in June 1937. It has since carried traffic in essentially unaltered condition. Until recently the last two steel arch overpasses in the state were located in Lucas and Clinton counties. The Clinton County arch has been replaced, leaving the Lucas County structure as the last remaining example of this bridge design trend. It is thus significant as a rare example of ISHC aesthetics and a unique structural type in the state [adapted from Fraser 1992].

Facts

Overview: Arch bridge over BNSF Railroad on 200th Avenue
Location: Whitebreast Township, Lucas County, Iowa
Status: Open to traffic
History: Built 1937; rehabilitated 1991
Builders: - Ben Cole & Sons Construction Co. of Ames, Iowa
- Iowa State Highway Commission of Ames, Iowa (Designer)
Railroads: - Amtrak (AMTK)
- BNSF Railway (BNSF)
- Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CBQ)
Design: Steel arch
Dimensions: Length of largest span: 107.9 ft.
Total length: 322.2 ft.
Deck width: 29.9 ft.
Recognition: Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on May 15, 1998
Approximate latitude, longitude: +41.04071, -93.36586 (decimal degrees)
41°02'27" N, 93°21'57" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates: 15/469249/4543341 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:: Chariton
Land survey: T. 72 N., R. 22 W., Sec. 14
Average daily traffic (as of 2014): 1,270
Inventory numbers: IA 226430 (Iowa bridge number)
NRHP 98000511 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 13869 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of November 2017): Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 82.5 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Update Log

March 30, 2015: New Street View added by Dave King
November 20, 2013: New photo from Luke Harden
April 4, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Added category "Amtrak"
September 8, 2011: Updated by Luke Harden: Added description and Builder
August 11, 2011: Updated by Luke Harden: Added description, photograph and other info

Sources

Luke
Historic Bridges of Iowa
Dave King - DKinghawkfan [at] hotmail [dot] com