The Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge is a rail

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

across the Missouri River between

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...

, and

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

History

When the first railroad bridge on the site opened on March 27, 1872, it connected the

First transcontinental railroad North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...

to the eastern United States. The bridge was rebuilt twice, with the current bridge opening on December 20, 1916. When the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

began heading west from Omaha in 1862 there were no railroads connecting to it from the east. After the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

reached Council Bluffs in 1867, the Union Pacific for a while tried to run freight trains across the frozen river during the winter. The Union Pacific Transfer company maintained a ferry service from 1866 to 1872. The bridge became the property of the UP when it absorbed the C&NW in 1995. In 1869 the transcontinental railroad was completed. An 1871 report to stockholders has this description: During the 3 years of construction, around 500 men were constantly employed during the construction of the bridge. To place the piers, iron columns were sunk into the water and air pressure was used to displace the water in the column at which point, men entered the column and dug out the sand underneath allow the column to sink until it reached bedrock. Using this process, they were able to sink the columns as much as per day. The deepest the men worked was below the surface of the water during which time they were exposed to air pressure that was 54 pounds per square inch (psi) greater than atmospheric pressure (14.6 psi). The columns were then filled with rock and concrete to form a base for the masonry piers above the water line. The new

single-track railway A single-track railway is a railway where trains traveling in both directions share the same track. Single track is usually found on lesser-used rail lines, often branch lines, where the level of traffic is not high enough to justify the co ...

bridge was completed in 1872 at a cost of $1.75 million ($ in present day terms). In 1877, a tornado weakened the two easternmost spans, requiring them to be replaced with a wooden

trestle ATLAS-I (Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission-Line Aircraft Simulator), better known as Trestle, was a unique electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generation and testing apparatus built between 1972 and 1980 during the Cold War at Sandia National Laborato ...

. In 1885, to keep pace with the growing demand for railway transportation, construction began on a new bridge. Designed and built under the direction of George S. Morison, it opened in the fall of 1887. It was long, with four Whipple trusses on stone masonry piers and three deck spans at each end. It was the first

double-track railway A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...

bridge across the Missouri River. The 1887 bridge also became obsolete. The peak year for American railroad track mileage was 1916. Nearly all interstate commerce went by rail. Six trunk lines of railroad used this bridge, with an average 320 freight and passenger trains crossing every 24 hours. Union Pacific decided to upgrade the Missouri River crossing to handle the

traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

and

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on ''tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically ref ...

, and work began in May 1916. To keep this critical artery open, the replacement bridge was constructed on temporary wooden piles immediately upstream of the 1888 stone piers. Another set of piles was driven into the river bed on the downstream side of the piers. When the new bridge was completed the old bridge was rigged with cables and winched from the stone piers to the temporary wood piles. The cables were rerigged to the new structure and it was pulled onto the stone piers. Tracks were connected and traffic resumed with just one hour of interruption. The 1888 bridge was then dismantled. The approaches to the bridge were a mile and a half on each side. The Union Pacific initially committed to including a roadway with the bridge. However, it recanted, and it would not be until 1888 when the

Douglas Street Bridge The Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge was a Whipple through truss bridge that was the first road bridge to cross the Missouri River connecting Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa. It was replaced in 1966 by the Interstate 480 girder bridge. History O ...

, later called the Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge, was opened as a roadway connecting the cities.

References

External links

1871 Stockholder Report (via cprr.org)Historic images of the bridge
- Nebraska Memories * {{OmahaBridges Railroad bridges in Iowa Railroad bridges in Nebraska Historic bridges in Omaha, Nebraska Missouri River Bridges over the Missouri River Buildings and structures in Council Bluffs, Iowa Bridges completed in 1872 Bridges completed in 1916 Bridges in Pottawattamie County, Iowa Historic American Engineering Record in Iowa Historic American Engineering Record in Nebraska Interstate railroad bridges in the United States 1873 establishments in Iowa 1873 establishments in Nebraska

History

See also

References

External links