The Burlington Bridge is a vertical-lift railroad bridge across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

between Burlington, Iowa, and

Gulfport, Illinois Gulfport is a village in Henderson County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 54, down from 207 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Burlington, IA–IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. The village wa ...

, United States. It is currently owned by BNSF Railway and carries two tracks which are part of BNSF's Chicago–Denver main line. The current bridge is the third that has existed at the same location. The first, a single-track

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

constructed in iron—the first all-metal structure to cross the Mississippi—opened in 1868, in the federal reconstruction phase post the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. Built as part of the network of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CBQ)—commonly known as the Burlington Route—it formed an important part of the federal railroad route between Chicago and Denver. Due to increasing traffic levels, in 1893 the CBQ reconstructed the bridge as a double-track, and it was further strengthened in the 1930s to allow for heavier freight cars. The CBQ later became part of Burlington Northern Railroad in 1970, and later BNSF.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

's ''

California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall ...

'' crosses this bridge. On May 1, 2008, five fully loaded

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

s broke loose during a period of high water. One struck the bridge and became lodged under it. The bridge was closed until midday on May 2, when one track was opened after it was deemed safe. The barge was removed during the afternoon of May 3 and the other track was reopened that evening bringing the bridge back to full use to carry the dozens of trains that cross it daily. In the same year, the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

declared the bridge a danger to navigable traffic. This meant both that the bridge had to be replaced, and that funding for such could be eligible for federal funds. Following the passing of the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...

, and a successful application for federal funding supported by the Coast Guard, the BNSF Railway began work to replace the bridge in late 2009. The project was split into two phases, with the lift span being built first by Ames Construction, of Burnsville, Minnesota, and the approach trusses built by the Walsh Construction Company of Chicago, Illinois. The lift span was complete and operational by February 2011, while the remainder of the bridge was not officially dedicated until October 2012. File:CBandQ RR Bridge Burlington Iowa 1891.jpg, The Burlington (C. B. & Q. Railroad) bridge in 1891 File:Burlington Rail Bridge.jpg, The Burlington Rail Bridge in 1985, showing the long pier on which the swing span pivoted

References

External links

* *, discusses Chief Engineer George S. Morison and his many bridges, including this bridge.
RiverWeb
{{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

, bridge = Burlington Rail Bridge , bridge signs = ''BNSF Railway'' , upstream = Great River Bridge , upstream signs = Iowa 163

, downstream =

Fort Madison Toll Bridge The Fort Madison Toll Bridge (also known as the Santa Fe Swing Span Bridge for the old Santa Fe Railway) is a tolled, double-decked swinging truss bridge over the Mississippi River that connects Fort Madison, Iowa, and unincorporated Niota, Illino ...

, downstream signs = ''BNSF Railway'' Railroad bridges in Iowa Railroad bridges in Illinois Bridges over the Mississippi River BNSF Railway bridges Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Buildings and structures in Burlington, Iowa Vertical lift bridges in the United States Vertical lift bridges in Illinois Bridges in Des Moines County, Iowa Towers in Iowa Plate girder bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 1867 1867 establishments in Iowa 1867 establishments in Illinois Historic American Engineering Record in Illinois Historic American Engineering Record in Iowa Interstate railroad bridges in the United States

See also

References

External links