Heads Up! Low Bridge! Est. 1904!

If you’ve lived in Iowa City very long and drive across town on a regular basis, you certainly know about the low-hanging dangers awaiting you on Iowa Avenue just west of Old Capitol. To look at the pictures below, there’s nothing here that looks too intimidating, right?

But wait! While I’ve escaped the experience personally, I do know of many students driving a rented U-Haul onto campus, or unsuspecting truck drivers whose high-profile vehicles topped out at 10.5+ feet who have truly regretted their decision to cross the Iowa River at Iowa Avenue. As you can see from the pictures below – thanks to KCRG-TV9 – many a semi-truck or moving van has been taken out by the old CRANDIC railroad bridge that crosses above Iowa Avenue – just east of the Iowa Avenue bridge over the Iowa River.

Yup, the city has done everything it can, over the years, to warn drivers that the bridge is extremely low.

I know, from experience, that moving truck rental companies around town have warning signs posted all around their offices, and some even post a warning inside the truck cab itself, but alas, we rarely have a school year at the University of Iowa when some distracted driver doesn’t slam his or her rental truck into the CRANDIC bridge.

First established in 1904, the CRANDIC railway system has had a long history in eastern Iowa, and we cover much of that history on another webpage. But here, I’d like to give you a few facts and figures about how this specific railway bridge over Iowa Avenue has been a big pain in the side of our city for much of its existence…

***The CRANDIC Interurban Railway ran between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City from 1904 to 1953.***

The citizens of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City were excited throughout the summer months of 1904, as the construction of the Dows & Smith Electrified Interurban Railway – later known as the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railway (CRANDIC) – was nearing completion. Below – the June 3, 1904 (left) and the June 10, 1904 (right) editions of The Iowa City Daily Press gave hope that the Interurban would be pulling into downtown Iowa City very soon. You can read more details here.

As you can see (below), the farm land between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City was increasing in value as well – with Swisher being just one community hoping to grow in population as the electrified trains came through town…

Below (left) – The August 11, 1904 edition of The Daily Press announces the first “official” run of the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Rail & Light Company’s Interurban – Saturday, August 13, 1904, carrying happy passengers over the 27-mile route from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City. On the same day, a booster power station was brought on line for the first time – and that power station would eventually become the Iowa Electric Power and Light Company – later becoming the CRANDIC’s parent company – Alliant Energy.

Over the next twenty years, the Interurban, when combined with the Rock Island and BCR&N railroads, and the Iowa City Electric Railway, became one of the most used sources of transportation for most Iowa Citians. As you can see from the December 9, 1910 edition of The Iowa City Citizen (above-right), even Santa Claus rides the Interurban into town for Christmas-time celebrations…

***Here’s the Interurban Bridge over the Iowa River – looking north – circa 1918.***

**Circa 1905 – University Square with CRANDIC Bridge in foreground.**

As you can see from the rare 1905 color postcard (above), the Interurban bridge over the Iowa River was constructed in 1903 so that the track would remain slightly elevated as it passed over Iowa Avenue and then ran between SUI’s Iowa Field, the home of Hawkeye baseball, football, and track (1895-1929), to the west – and the SUI Athletic Pavilion, the home of Iowa basketball and other SUI large events (1904-1927), to the east. Read more here.

At the time, of course, automobiles were very rare, and, quite honestly, the city land (Blocks 96-99) to the west of Old Capitol (see pics above & below) – which was very prone to flooding – was one of the poorer residential neighborhoods of Iowa City. Other than the sporting activities surrounding the SUI Athletic complex we mentioned earlier, there was very little motorized traffic on Iowa Avenue at the time, thus the need for a highly-elevated railroad bridge was simply not there.

***As you can see from this photograph (above) from around 1915, Iowa Avenue – heading west from Old Capitol – is a small one-lane road.***
*You can read more about the Rinella Grocery neighborhood here.*

But, all that changed in the late 1910’s and early 1920’s, as the University began purchasing land around Old Capitol and expanding into new SUI facilities built on the west side of the Iowa River. Suddenly, by 1919, the bridge and road conditions of Iowa Avenue were becoming major headaches for both the city and the University. Below are four articles (July to December 1919) from The Iowa City Citizen that indicate the growing problems the city was having with the Interurban Bridge and its failure to meet city standards…

***Rinella’s Grocery*** ***in Block 98*** – one of the last photos of the old Block 98 neighborhood – taken from Old Capitol looking west on Iowa Avenue – before everything is cleared away to make room for University-driven developments. This photograph was taken around 1919-1920, prior to the new Interurban Bridge being built over an expanded, two lane Iowa Avenue.
*Read more about these “riverside” developments here.*

In 1920, under the supervision of Byron J. Lambert (below)- Head of the SUI Civil Engineering Department for forty-three years (1901-1944), and Dean of the School of Engineering (1935-1936) – the Interurban Bridge over Iowa Avenue was re-designed and rebuilt. Lambert was well-known on campus, and was the designer of both the Burlington Street Bridge (1915) and the Iowa Avenue (1916) Bridge, and the Iowa City swimming pool (1947) in City Park.

On another page, we discuss in full detail the last run of the Interurban on May 30, 1953, and since then, the CRANDIC line still uses its main line from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City.

And, it’s that same I-frame concrete railroad bridge – built in 1920 – that crosses Iowa Avenue today (see pic below).

While its 10.5 feet height worked well over its first quarter-century (1904-1929), it’s these last 90+ years that have caused havoc for many high-profile vehicles with drivers who fail to heed the warning signs.

Today, the CRANDIC freight line uses the Iowa Avenue bridge somewhat sparingly, meaning there really isn’t any financial benefit for Alliant Energy – who owns the CRANDIC – to make costly bridge renovations. Nor has the University of Iowa or the City of Iowa City invested the big bucks it would take to lower Iowa Avenue beneath the bridge. As a result, we have the long-standing “Driver Beware” policy that makes for one interesting chapter in the long history of the CRANDIC Interurban and its ascent into downtown Iowa City.