Swinging across the wide, muddy Missouri River between East Omaha and Council Bluffs, the Illinois Central Railroad bridge wasn’t just a piece of big infrastructure in Omaha. For almost a century, it was an important lifeline connecting Nebraska industry to eastern markets, an engineering marvel in its own right, and the gateway to one of Omaha’s most unique, forgotten working-class communities. This is a history of the East Omaha Bridge.

Steel and Rails

In the late 1800s, Omaha was growing big, fast. Rail traffic was exploding, and the Union Pacific bridge downtown couldn’t handle every railroad line that was clamoring for access to the growing meatpacking plants of South Omaha and rail yards of north downtown.

In 1893, the Omaha Bridge and Terminal Railway Company completed the original East Omaha Bridge. Designed by famed bridge engineer J.A.L. Waddell (1854-1938), the structure made engineering history right out of the gate. When it was finished, the bridge featured the longest swing span in the world, measuring an impressive 520 feet across its pivot point.

When it was originally built, the crossing was a single swing span on the Iowa side of the river with fixed wooden approach trestles on the Nebraska side.

Built as a combination rail, wagon, and pedestrian crossing, the bridge allowed local farmers, laborers, and streetcars to go across the river alongside freight haulers like the Illinois Central Railroad.

In the next few years, several large manufacturing plants opened up on the Nebraska side of the bridge. Comprising the East Omaha Factory District, these plants employed hundreds of workers and built a company town called East Omaha. At its peak, the town had 2,500 residents and included a school, churches, grocery stores, bars, and a justice of the peace.

Almost immediately, there were problems. The Missouri River has always whipped around the valley like a snake’s tail, and after the bridge was first built it had migrated roughly 300 feet west from the original channel. This shift stranded the deep navigation channel beneath the fixed Nebraska trestle, meaning boats could no longer safely pass through the Iowa swing opening.

Rebuilding Better

By the turn of the twentieth century, the original 1893 crossing was struggling to keep up with the explosive growth of rail traffic. The original structure—built half of wood trestles alongside its pioneering steel swing span—had simply seen the best of its days and lost over a million dollars before the Illinois Central Railroad stepped in to rescue the enterprise.

Instead of fighting the river, in 1903 engineers for Illinois Central began adding a second 520-foot steel swing span on the Nebraska side during the rebuild. This made it a rare double-swing bridge—allowing river traffic to pass through whichever side the Missouri River decided to carve its channel.

In 1904, work wrapped up on a massive, total reconstruction of the crossing to convert it into a heavy-duty, all-steel powerhouse. Running between Council Bluffs and an attractive freight depot at the foot of Chicago Street in Omaha, the bridge formed the backbone of what was recognized as one of the shortest, yet busiest, steam railroad operations in the country. The worn wooden spans were completely removed and replaced with massive steel girders. Instead of following the old curve of the river, the bridge was realigned to make a clean, square cut directly across the Missouri River channel.

When it was completed, the upgraded bridge stretched roughly 1,580 feet in total length. It was anchored by two massive 520-foot steel draw spans supported by 60-foot and 480-foot approach trestles.

Life in the River Bottoms

You cannot understand the bridge without understanding the community beneath its shadows.

The neighborhood of East Omaha—nestled in the bottoms near Carter Lake and the river bends—was a self-contained, fiercely independent community. It was home to market gardeners, railroad men, industrial workers, and later, the workers building Eppley Airfield.

The bridge loomed large in daily life, with local kids watching trains rumble overhead, rattling the wooden pilings and steel girders on the bridge. Pedestrians paid a toll to walk the wooden deck over to Iowa for work or recreation at the nearby lakes. Ultimately, the bridge tied the isolated East Omaha river bottoms directly to the industrial hub of Pottawattamie County across the water.

For years, the upgraded double-track steel truss bridge was a regional workhorse. It carried:

• Freight and Passenger Trains: Illinois Central, Chicago Great Western, and the Omaha & Council Bluffs Railway.
• The “Dinky” Streetcar: A beloved interurban streetcar line shuttling workers and families across the river.
• Automobile and Pedestrian Traffic: Before modern highway crossings like the Mormon Bridge or the I-480 bridge existed, the East Omaha Bridge served as a vital northern highway for cars and wagons.

At the same time, the Illinois Central East Omaha Bridge spurred the development and sustainability of much of the past success in North Omaha. Along with fostering development of the East Omaha Factory District and the town of East Omaha, the bridge also enabled the development of several other railroad structures in North Omaha, including…

• Illinois Central Roundhouse (North 13th & Wirt Streets): Built in Sulphur Springs to service locomotives entering North Omaha via the bridge. Opened in 1899 and closed in the 1950s.
• Illinois Central / OB&T Freight Depot (Foot of Chicago Street): Downtown/North Omaha freight terminal established to handle direct freight transfers from Iowa. Opened in 1899 and closed in the 19770s.
• North Omaha Yards: Classification yards developed north of Locust Street to marshal trains crossing the Missouri River. Established around 1893 and closed in 1980.
• East Omaha Factory District Industrial Spurs: Dedicated rail spurs built to serve heavy industries, including the Omaha Box Company, Carter White Lead, and massive Carter Lake commercial icehouses. Laid in 1891 and removed in the 1960s.
• East Omaha Interurban “Dinky” Streetcar Line: Dedicated transit tracks crossing the bottoms and bridge to connect North Omaha workers with Iowa industries and Courtland Beach. Started in 1891 and closed in 1936.
• Nicholas & Cuming Street Rail Interchange Corridors: Junction tracks constructed through the river bottoms to interchange freight directly with the Missouri Pacific, Union Pacific, and Omaha Road (CStPM&O). Opened in 1892/1893 and removed in the 1990s.
• Locust Street & Nicholas Street Viaducts: Grade-separation infrastructure built to carry vehicular and streetcar traffic safely over the dense web of bridge approach tracks.
• Ames Avenue Bridge Over Carter Lake: A critical western stepping-stone for the entire bridge approach corridor. Opened in 1892 and closed in 1932, removed in 1936.

It might not have single-handedly made all of those happen, but the bridge definitely played a role in the establishment of each of those pieces of infrastrcture.

Standing Idle and Rusting Away

As automobile traffic shifted to dedicated highway bridges—most notably the Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge (Douglas Street) and later the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge in 1953—the old East Omaha crossing lost its multi-modal dominance. Tolls for cars and wagons eventually ceased, and the structure returned to strictly railroad duty under the Illinois Central Railroad.

Decades later, after Gavins Point Dam was finished in 1957 and the river was permanently channelized, the Iowa swing span ended up stranded entirely over dry land, leaving only the Nebraska span over active water. By the late 20th century, railroad consolidation and changes in shipping corridors squeezed barge traffic on the Missouri, and in 1980, rail operations on the East Omaha Bridge stopped entirely.

Instead of demolishing it, the old bridge’s swing span was swung open parallel to the river’s edge to allow clear navigation for barges. Today, more than 45 years later, the massive steel truss piers still rise out of the Missouri River—a striking, rusted silhouette against the Omaha skyline.

Theoretically, the East Omaha Bridge could become a trail connection between the Omaha Riverfront Trail and the Council Bluffs Levee Trail, but with the Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge nearby, that probably won’t happen. It’s relatively low clearance would force usage of the pivot engine for the swinging span, which would have to be rebuilt. Along with stationing a worker there 24/7 and whatnot, repurposing the bridge is not financially possible.

In reality, the bridge will almost certainly remain as it is: an abandoned, historic steel ruin gradually weathering in the river channel until severe deterioration forces its eventual removal. Go look at it now before it’s demolished.

Timeline of the East Omaha Bridge

• 1892: Construction begins on the original crossing by the Omaha Bridge and Terminal Railway Company.
• 1893: The bridge opens, featuring the world’s longest 520-foot steel swing span over the river.
• 1899: The Illinois Central Railroad secures operating rights to run rail traffic across the crossing.
• 1902: The Illinois Central Railroad acquires a controlling financial interest in the bridge and railway.
• 1903: Illinois Central takes full ownership and begins a total reconstruction into a double-swing bridge.
• 1904: The all-steel, 1,580-foot viaduct reopens with two 520-foot draw spans crossing the river.
• 1918: Director General McAdoo orders wartime pooling, allowing Missouri Pacific engines across the bridge.
• 1920: A devastating fire burns the timber decking, severely disrupting all train and vehicle traffic.
• 1953: The new Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge opens north, drawing automobile traffic away forever.
• 1957: Canadian National Railway takes controlling interest over the bridge.
• 1970s: A severe fire wrecks the Iowa span’s turning machinery, leaving it stranded permanently open.
• 1980: Rail traffic officially ceases, and the Nebraska swing span is permanently rotated open.
• 1998: Canadian National Railway acquires Illinois Central, absorbing the abandoned bridge into its corporate holdings.
• 2008: The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge opens south, replacing civic demand for retrofitting the bridge.

You Might Like…

• A History of Railroads in North Omaha
• A History of the Ames Avenue Bridge Over Carter Lake

MY ARTICLES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF STREETS IN NORTH OMAHA

STREETS: 16th Street | 24th Street | 30th Street | Cuming Street | Military Avenue | Saddle Creek Road | Florence Main Street
BOULEVARDS: Boulevards | Florence Boulevard | Fontenelle Boulevard
INTERSECTIONS: 42nd and Redman | 40th and Ames | 40th and Hamilton | 30th and Ames | 24th and Fort | 30th and Fort | 24th and Ames | 24th and Lake | 16th and Locust | 20th and Lake | 45th and Military | 24th and Pratt | 30th and Redick | 24th and Ames
STREETCARS: Streetcars | Streetcars in Benson | 26th and Lake Streetcar Barn | 19th and Nicholas Streetcar Barn | Omaha Horse Railway
BRIDGES: Locust Street Viaduct | Nicholas Street Viaduct | Mormon Bridge | Ames Avenue Bridge | Miller Park Bridges | East Omaha Bridge | Ames Avenue Carter Lake Bridge
OTHER: North Freeway | Sorenson Parkway | J.J. Pershing Drive | River Drive

MY ARTICLES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF EAST OMAHA
SEE ALSO: East Omaha History Tour
AREAS: Town of East Omaha | Carter Lake | Winspear Triangle | North Omaha Bottoms | Sherman | Sulphur Springs | Edgewood Park | Bungalow City | Squatter’s Row | Lakewood Gardens | East Omaha Factory District
BUSINESSES: East Omaha Truck Farms | Spanggaard Dairy | Carter White Lead Company | Nite Hawkes Cafe | Railroads
CARTER LAKE, IOWA: Courtland Beach | Omaha Rod and Gun Club | Carter Lake Club | Sand Point Beach and Lakeview Amusement Park | Omaha Auto Speedway | Lakeside Raceway |
CARTER LAKE PARK: Municipal Beach | Bungalow City | Pleasure Pier and Kiddieland | CCC Camp
PEOPLE: Selina Carter Cornish | Levi Carter | Granny Weatherford
TRANSPORTATION: Ames Avenue Bridge | Eppley Airfield | 16th and Locust Streets | JJ Pershing Drive | North 16th Street | Paine Airfield | Locust Street Viaduct | East Omaha Bridge
SCHOOLS: Beechwood School | Pershing School | Sherman School | St. Therese Catholic School
OTHER: The Burning Lady | St. Therese Catholic Church | 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition

Listen to our podcast “A History of East Omaha” online now!