Because locomotives required the route to be flat, at no point in the trail does the grade exceed 2%.
The Cedar River bridge about seven miles west of Brandon was covered by flood waters, and the limestone surface was washed away.
In June 2012 the Black Hawk County, Iowa Board of Supervisors voted to award a contract with Herberger Construction Co., of Indianola, Iowa to build the new Cedar River crossing.
[5] Illinois Central ran freight trains on the line until 1977 when it was abandoned and the tracks were removed.
The Iowa state legislature and nonprofit organizations such as the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund raised the funds necessary to purchase the site by 1983.