Last Summer, while in Iowa doing something else, I had the good fortune to be able to do some bridge hunting in the city of Cedar Rapids. Last week, every one of the bridges that I shot for the Historic Bridges Website was completely inundated by the rising waters of the Cedar River, which crested at a record 32 feet. One of the downtown bridges, a massive, four-span, railroad truss was washed away two days ago. EDITED TO ADD: Dramatic video of the bridge prior to, and just after the collapse, are available here, on The Weather Channel.

I did shoot the CRANDIC railroad bridge last Summer, although it did not get added to the Bridge Hunter site until a few days ago. Rail bridges are also of interest but difficult to document.

Many of the photos were taken from a location that I probably shouldn’t have been with my camera…

…but now, it’s a moot point and at least the bridge is partially documented.


It was built in 1903 but washed away in 2008.

The bridge did still carry a lot of daily traffic and actually, much road and rail traffic in Iowa is at a standstill right now because of the floods.

You can see more of the Linn County Bridges at the Bridge Hunter Linn County, IA website. Here’s hoping they’re all okay when the water goes back down.

First Avenue
The First Avenue Bridge carries Business US 151 and
The Lincoln Highway across Mays Island and the Cedar
River. It was completely under water this week.

2nd Avenue
The Second Avenue Bridge also crosses May Island. This span
crosses to the island from downtown. That’s the Veterans’ Memorial,
at least, the way it looked before the flood.

2nd Avenue
This span of the Second Avenue Bridge crosses from Mays
Island to the Southwest Quadrant of Cedar Rapids.

3rd Avenue
The Third Avenue Bridge also crosses to Mays Island. This span
comes from Mays Island to Downtown, from the Linn County
Courthouse. There is a parking lot below the deck of this bridge.

3rd Avenue
This span carries Third Avenue from the Southwest Quadarnt
of Cedar Rapids to the Courthouse on Mays Island.

12th Ave
The Twelfth Avenue Bridge and…

16th
…Sixteenth Avenue Bridge are completely inundated by the
Cedar River this week.

This photo of Cedar Rapids looks northeast from the Southwest
Quadrant of the city. That’s I-380, curving to cross the river, parallel
to the First Avenue Bridge. In the top center of the photo is the shadow
of the Veteran’s Memorial. You can just see the tops of the
First Avenue and Second Avenue Bridge railings. Photo by Steve Pope.
2nd Avenue by Steve Pope
2nd Avenue in downtown Cedar Rapids, looking northeast from the end
of the bridge that is shown above. Over 400 blocks were inundated. One water
pumping station is currently supplying water to the entire city, and it is
also in danger of being closed due to flooding. The river crested Friday at
32 feet, smashing the record of 20 feet, set in 1929. Photo by Jeff Roberson.