December 28, 1846 – Iowa becomes the 29th state.
Mid 1850's - Sioux City is platted
Mid 1850's to 1888 - Prior to 1888 the only way to get across the Missouri River to Nebraska was by boat.
1888 - The Missouri River Railroad Bridge was completed. It is the first connection linking Sioux City, Iowa to Nebraska.
The Pacific Short Line Railroad was projected to go from Sioux City, Iowa and connect with the Union Pacific Railroad at Ogden, Utah. The Northwestern Railroad placed a prohibition tariff for the use of the railroad bridge.
Shortly after the Pacific Short Line began construction, crossing on a pontoon bridge until a franchise was obtained for a combination wagon, foot and railroad bridge.
1889 - The pontoon bridge is completed for foot and wagon traffic between Sioux City, Iowa and Nebraska.
Donald Mclean, John Peirce and other boosters proposed a bridge to carry their Pacific Short Line Railroad.
June and July 1890 – Contracts for bridge let by Pacific Short Line Railroad.
August 1890 - Construction of the Pacific Short Line Bridge began.
September 1891 – Work on the bridge was halted because of litigation involving the Pacific Short Line.
1892 – Pacific Short Line railroad was reorganized.
Mr. Foy had an idea about a railroad he called the Sioux City and Pacific starting at Third Street crossing the new, soon to be finished Combination Bridge on Burlington’s tracks, switch off, go through Homer, Nebraska and points west.
Mid 1890's - The financial panic or Great Depression of the 1890's, hit and a lot of wealthy backers of the bridge project lost a majority of their money.
January 1893 – A new company, The Missouri River Bridge Company, took over construction of the bridge until August.
April 25, 1893 – The Missouri River Bridge Company went into receivership and work was halted.
June 26, 1894 – The City of Sioux City held a special election to vote in 2% tax to aid in constructing the bridge provided it was completed by March of 1896. $308,000 was generated from the tax.
June 10, 1895 – The bridge was bid on by the Credits Commutation Company public auction for $200,000.
The Combination Bridge Company issued $500,000 in bonds due in 20 years. With these funds work resumed on the bridge
January 21, 1896 – The grand opening of the Pacific Short Line Bridge is held.
9:00 am – Bridge is opened to first pedestrian traffic.
10:00 am – Draw on the Nebraska was opened and closed.
2:00 pm – The first train that crossed the bridge left Union Depot.
Shortly after 2:00 pm – First wagon traffic crosses the bridge.
The Sioux City Traction Company began running cars over the bridge.
The pontoon bridge is closed when the Pacific Short Line Bridge is opened. The bridge also became known as the Combination Bridge because it carried railroad, wagon and pedestrian traffic between Sioux City, Iowa and Nebraska.
1896 - The pontoon bridge is removed.
1908 or 1909 – Burlington was competing with Northwestern that owned the High Bridge. They made a deal allowing Burlington to use the bridge.
1910 – Railroad traffic was routed to the Union Bridge. Streetcars still utilized the Pacific Short line trackage.
June 1915 – The bonds sold in 1895 became due. $200,000 had been paid and the interest on the $500,000 bond issue. But nothing had been paid on the latter bonds which were selling at $0.51 on the dollar.
A foreclosure auction resulted.
June 6, 1916 – Decree filed – Fort Dearborn Trust & Savings Bank a trust company form Indianapolis filed proceedings which threw the bridge into receivership.
June 9, July 10 and July 25, 1919 – The bridge was once again up for auction at the door of the Woodbury County Courthouse.
No bids were made.
The Master of Chancery was ordered by the Federal Court that no bid below $500,000, the mortgage amount of the bridge, would be entertained.
August 29, 1916 – A fourth auction was held and the bridge was eventually sold for $288,000 to W. L. Selby, presumably an agent of Swift and Company. The bond holders received $0.60 on the dollar.
Selby deeded the bridge to a new Combination Bridge Company. The new company issued bonds and stock in a total amount of $1,300,000
1937 – An effort to sell the bridge to the city for $2,000,000 was unsuccessful.
Buses replaced the streetcars.
January 8 and 9, 1938 – Ownership of the bridge passed from Missouri River Sioux City Bridge Company to Dakota County Nebraska for the amount of $1,665,000. The transaction took place in Chicago, Illinois.
Dakota County issued $1,850,000 revenue bonds be returned from tolls.
1940 – Sioux City voted for a free bridge at the general election.
1951 - The cantilevered roadways were widened from 9 feet to 12 feet.
February 8, 1951 - The toll for the bridge is discontinued.
1959 – The north or Iowa swing span was removed.
1976 - The Sergeant Floyd Memorial Bridge opened south of the Floyd Monument.
1980 – Because the Pacific Short Line Bridge was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places a written history and photographs of the bridge are prepared for the Historic American Engineering Record of the Library of Congress.
March 1981 - The Pacific Short Line or Combination Bridge is demolished when the modern Veterans Memorial Bridge was completed.
The new Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge opened replacing the old Missouri River Railroad Bridge.
Both old bridges were dynamited to collapse them to the ground and the water to make it easier to remove the structures rather than try to take them apart from above the ground and water.
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