ASB Bridge

ASB Bridge
ASB Bridge from Westport Landing, span in lowered position
Official name	Armour-Swift-Burlington Bridge
Other name(s)	Winner bridge, Fratt Bridge
Carries	Railroads, and formerly Automobiles
Crosses	Missouri River
Locale	Kansas City, Missouri to North Kansas City, Missouri
Maintained by	BNSF Railway
Design	double-deck truss bridge with vertical lift
Total length	1,282 ft (391 m)
Longest span	428 ft (130 m)
Opened	1911
Toll	27 cents (until 1927)
Closed	1987 (road deck)
Coordinates	39°06′59″N 94°34′47″W / 39.116527°N 94.57974°W / 39.116527; -94.57974Coordinates: 39°06′59″N 94°34′47″W / 39.116527°N 94.57974°W / 39.116527; -94.57974

The Armour-Swift-Burlington (ASB) Bridge, also known as the North Kansas City Bridge, is a rail crossing over the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri that formerly also handled car traffic.

The piers were built in 1890. However, later that year, lack of funding prevented the bridge from being built. In 1909, John Alexander Low Waddell designed the current bridge and construction started. The bridge is one of two of this type that had car traffic on Route 9 on the upper level, and rail traffic on the lower level. The lower deck could be raised to permit riverboats to pass without interrupting car traffic on top. This design allowed the hangers from the lower deck to go through the truss members of the upper deck.

ASB Bridge with road deck c.1981.

It was built by a combination of Armour Packing Company, Swift & Company, and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.

In 1987 the Heart of America Bridge bridge opened to the east to replace the vehicular portion.

In 1996 the remaining part of the ASB was designated as a national landmark in civil engineering. The bridge is now owned by the BNSF Railway. The ASB has a 428-foot main span, and makes it the ninth longest vertical lift draw bridge in the United States. It is also a tourist attraction, as many people visit it each year. This is also one of two of this type ever built.^[1]

History

1890: Nine stone masonry piers built, J.A.L. Waddell did not agree with piers, funding ceased and the piers would sit unused until 1909.

1909: The companies of Armour Packing House, Swift and Company, and Burlington Northern railroad put in funds to build bridge. Piers shaved to ten feet above high water mark, J.A.L. Waddell created a new design, work begins.

December 28, 1911: Bridge opened to traffic, two lanes of automobile on upper level, one track of railroad on lower.

January 1913: Electric interurban cars begin use of streetcar rails on upper deck.

May 2, 1927: South approach span damaged in fire, replaced later that month.

August 1927: Bridge taken over by Missouri State Highway Department and tolls removed. Bridge floor replaced.

1932: Steel girder span over Second Street replaced.

1948: Bridge deck replaced, repairs and new lights added. Streetcar rails removed, and opened to four lanes of traffic.

1949: Collars placed around river piers to prevent rust.

1950: Bridge cleaned and repainted.

1951: Bridge survives 1951 flood.

1952: North approach widened.

1966: North approach widened and resurfaced.

1967: Bridge deck repaired.

1981-1982: Repair of girder lines on downstream side of railroad deck.

1987: Heart of America Bridge opened to the east, upper auto deck closed to all traffic.

1988-1989: Upper deck removed, and bridge given to Burlington Northern railroad.

1996: Bridge added as a national landmark in civil engineering for being only two of that type ever built.

See also

• List of crossings of the Missouri River

References

1. ^ "Kansas City Engineering History". asce.org. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930165428/http://sections.asce.org/kc/kchist.html. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 

External links

• ASCE History
• Survey number HAER MO-2 - Armour, Swift, Burlington Bridge, Kansas City, Jackson County, MO