2025/1902 CRANDIC (CIC)/IAIS/Milwaukee 18.15 Bridges over Iowa River near Middle Amana, IA

(Archived Bridge Hunter, broken link; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

CRANDIC = Cedar Rapids and Iowa City

The 1902 bridge is being replaced.

travero_project
"Built in 1902, this bridge is the final outdated structure on CRANDIC’s Amana subdivision south of Cedar Rapids, Iowa." It will raise the bridge 30" so that it is above the 100-year flood height and it will increase the load capacity to 286,000 pounds. "On average, 90,000 railcars—including over 27,000 carrying hazardous materials—cross it each year." The replacement was funded with a grant from the FRA. "Since 2008, CRANDIC Rail has replaced the other eight bridges in the Amana subdivision, which connects the Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) to its interchange point with CRANDIC Rail at its yard outside Cedar Rapids."

Some sources say an HAER was made, but none of them provided a link.

18:26 video
It is a pin connected Pratt truss bridge, which is becoming more and more rare.

Same video

Same video
The video goes on to provide a history of the Amana Colonies. It also talks about the start of Amana Refrigeration, which became Maytag and then Whirlpool in Middle Amanda. The video gets back to railroading at 10:08.

@ 16:18

@ 17:44

When looking at a satellite image, I noticed the wide flood plain that this railroad crossed and that most of the crossing is an embankment. This bridge provides a very narrow gap for the flood waters to flow through.

Satellite

So, I looked closer and found that they have a secondary bridge over the floodplain.

Satellite

I think this is that secondary bridge. Obviously, it is a concrete girder bridge. And it has a longer opening than the main bridge has.

@ 6:02

This looks like the building of that secondary bridge. It is 458' (140m) long. It was replaced in 18 hours. These are three photos from amcohron-son.

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This is the post that motivated these notes. The new bridge is a steel girder bridge.

Federal Railroad Administration posted
Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Company (CRANDIC) is scheduled to complete construction this fall on a new span across the Iowa River near Middle Amana, Iowa, replacing the existing 120-year-old bridge. Once complete, the new bridge will support the growth of the local economy by ensuring safe and efficient rail car movement. This project was made possible by $5.4 million in FY 2020 funding from a FRA Consolidated Railroad Infrastructure and Safety and Improvements (CRISI) Program grant.

The FRA posted three photos with the comment: "Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Company (CRANDIC) is scheduled to complete construction this fall on a new span across the Iowa River near Middle Amana, Iowa, replacing the existing 120-year-old bridge. Once complete, the new bridge will support the growth of the local economy by ensuring safe and efficient rail car movement. This project was made possible by $5.4 million in FY 2020 funding from a FRA Consolidated Railroad Infrastructure and Safety and Improvements (CRISI) Program grant."

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