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Union Trail - Little Sioux River Bridge

Woodbury County, Iowa

Photos 

Overview

http://www.woodburyparks.com/historic.html

http://www.woodburyparks.com/historic.html

BH Photo #218342

Map 

Description 

Bridge was originally built in 1887 with a single through truss. In 1911, an 1881 vintage span was added from the Tallahatchie River Bridge in Mississippi. After abandonment, the 1887 span was removed, while the 1881 span was saved. Information comes from ICC Valuation Bridge Notes at the National Archives.

Facts 

Overview
Pratt through truss bridge over Little Sioux River on the Union Bridge Trail
Location
Correctionville, Woodbury County, Iowa
Status
Open to pedestrians
History
Built 1887, 1881 Span Added 1911, Partially Removed Ca. 1999; Converted to Trail 2006
Builders
- Keystone Bridge Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1881 Span)
- Union Bridge Co. of Buffalo, New York & Athens, Pennsylvania (1887 Span)
Railroad
- Illinois Central Railroad (IC; ICG (1972-1988))
Design
256' Wooden trestle
1-150' Pratt Through Truss (Built 1887)
1-122' Pratt Through Truss (Built 1881, Relocated Here 1911)
137' Wooden Trestle
----------
All except for 122' Pratt Truss removed after abandonedment in 1977
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 150.0 ft.
Total length: 672.0 ft.
Deck width: 31.0 ft.
Also called
IC - Little Sioux River Bridge #5
IC - Bridge #T22.3
Approximate latitude, longitude
+42.46856, -95.79228   (decimal degrees)
42°28'07" N, 95°47'32" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
15/270446/4705580 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Correctionville
Inventory number
BH 49888 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

19th Century (8,634)
8-panel truss (548)
Beam (16,946)
Built 1881 (155)
Built during 1880s (2,221)
Correctionville, Iowa (6)
Illinois Central Railroad (627)
Iowa (6,811)
Keystone Bridge Co. (77)
Little Sioux River (57)
Open to pedestrians (4,597)
Owned by county (21,656)
Pin-connected (4,868)
 Pratt through truss (6,127)
Pratt truss (10,403)
Preserved (1,229)
Rail-to-trail (1,660)
Railroad (16,518)
Span length 125-175 feet (4,454)
Through truss (17,185)
Timber stringer (4,339)
Total length 500-1000 feet (3,089)
Truss (35,934)
Union Bridge Co. (70)
Woodbury County, Iowa (74)

Update Log 

  • May 26, 2022: Updated by John Marvig: added relocation information
  • December 15, 2021: New photo from Luke
  • December 14, 2016: Updated by John Marvig: Corrected Build Date
  • March 31, 2014: Updated by Luke Harden: Added category "Illinois Central Railroad"
  • December 16, 2012: Updated by John Marvig: Added information
  • April 5, 2012: Updated by Jason Smith: Readjusted the information on the bridge
  • October 23, 2011: Added by James McCray

Sources 

  • James McCray - jamesinslocomb [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • Jason Smith - flensburg [dot] bridgehunter [dot] av [at] googlemail [dot] com
  • John Marvig - marvigj27 [at] gmail [dot] com
  • Luke
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Comments 

Union Trail - Little Sioux River Bridge
Posted May 26, 2022, by John Marvig (marvigj27 [at] gmail [dot] com)

Oddly enough, while the bridge is on the "Union Bridge Trail", the remaining span was not built by Union Bridge Company in 1887, as the replica plaque suggests. Instead, it was built by Keystone Bridge Company across the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi in 1881.