(The following report appeared at KCCI.com on August 7.)
DES MOINES, Iowa — Crews continue working to replace a century-old railroad bridge in Boone County.
The Kate Shelley Bridge was built in 1901.
Union Pacific plans to retire the Boone County landmark once a new high bridge is complete.
People come from around the world to see bridge that is named for a 16-year-old Iowa girl who made her way through a storm in 1881 in order to keep a train from crossing a rail bridge that was wiped out by heavy rain.
Seventeen steel towers span more than 2,500 feet across the Des Moines River Valley. It took three years to build the bridge.
“You know, it was a monumental feat in 1900, and it’s definitely a monumental feat even to this day,” said Charles Irwin, of the Boone County Historical Society.
Irwin said crews started working from both ends, eventually meeting in the middle.
“I find (it) just amazing how they could build something in 1900 or 1901 that would still be serviceable today in 2007,” he said.
Because the bridge is old, trains must slow to a crawl when crossing the bridge.
Large concrete pillars will replace the steel towers to support the increasing volume and speed of the Union Pacific trains.
A crane carried work crews nearly 200 feet into the air so they can begin connecting the pillars with hundreds of feet of track.
“I just start seeing the concrete pillars rise up and, of course, the new bridge, from what I understand, is going to be 5 feet higher,” he said.
A Union Pacific representative said the bridge will be the highest double-track bridge at 198 feet.
It will stand side by side with the historic Kate Shelley Bridge.
Union Pacific will continue using the Kate Shelley Bridge until October 2008, when the new bridge is expected to be completed.
The company has blocked off several roads in the area to keep people at a safe distance from the construction site.