completed on January 6, 1865, and the first Chicago freight train crossed it six days later. The bridge's total length was , and its draw span was long. From the beginning of its construction, the Clinton Railroad Bridge was the subject of several lawsuits brought by river steamboat operators. In 1870, a third lawsuit was settled by the United States Supreme Court in favor of the railroad. The bridge was declared a post route, therefore stopping the occupation of steamboats and approval of railroads. The mileage in operation increased from 28,789 in 1859 to 229,230 in 1908, with more than 150 trains using the bridge on some days, prompted the Chicago and North Western Railroad to replace the bridge with a new structure in 1900. The old bridge was torn down in 1909. Current bridge (1907–present) Planning for construction on the new bridge began in 1901. On February 6, 1907, Congress authorized construction of the new bridge. On May 4 of that year, the secretary of war approved plans for it. During the time of construction, the draw span was one of the largest spans on the Mississippi Rver. On March 21, 1907, a formal order authorized the necessary expenditures for the bridge. On May 18, 1907, a contract for the entire sub-structure was entered, which was made for erection of the slough spans and east channel spans. In February 1908, a contract for constructing the west channel spans was made. The new bridge opened in 1909, and in late winter during that year, the first train crossed the bridge. The cost for the new bridge was $1 million. In October 1958, the bridge caught on fire and suffered $250,000 in loss. In June 1959, the bridge suffered another fire, but the damage was slight. The cause of the blaze was not determined, but firefighters said that 25 ties were damaged by heat and would need to be replaced. On August 7, 2007, eleven coal cars derailed on the bridge. The train was traveling from Wyoming to Illinois. The bridge reopened on Wednesday August 8, 2007. Future replacement There has been possibilities that the current Clinton Railroad Bridge may be replaced. In 1996, the United States Coast Guard listed the bridge as a "hazard to navigation", and this declaration helped put the bridge on track for replacement once federal funds would be available to do it. During that year, the