Federal, TRRA funds will replace girders on MacArthur Bridge, primary route across Mississippi River
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2019/06/13-fra-grant-to-help-fund-rebuilding-of-crucial-st-louis-bridge
Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine
This is a highly important project (in fact, I thought it had already been funded as important). If I recall correctly, the point of "replacing" the existing structure is to facilitate installation of a true ballasted deck on at least critical parts of the bridge and approach structure, and I think there are online discussions of the project that have been posted in these forums before (probably around the time of the project funding for the east-end bottleneck approach -- I don't have the patience to look to see)
I would rather they replace the bridge then attempt to extend it's lifespan. It is an eyesore at best and I think they could do better with traffic fluidity with a triple track or quad track span over the river. Also the speed limit on the bridge is ridiculously slow for passenger trains.....just my two cents.
CMStPnP I would rather they replace the bridge then attempt to extend it's lifespan. It is an eyesore at best and I think they could do better with traffic fluidity with a triple track or quad track span over the river. Also the speed limit on the bridge is ridiculously slow for passenger trains.....just my two cents.
One man's eyesore is another man's link to his past.
Truth be told, about every railroad bridge across the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, is well past it's prime. Most are over 100 years old. Meanwhile, the highway bridges are relatively new. The railroads don't seem too interested in replacing bridges.
UP is in the process of replacing their bridge over the Mississippi at Clinton, IA.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.clintonherald.com/news/local_news/railroad-bridge-planning-on-track/article_8cbfebde-fe3f-5858-80f4-c216a87a11dd.amp.html
For the most part - railroad bridges were designed to withstand the pounding that steam engines imparted on their structure - in comparison, diesel powered trains do not give the bridge structure the same kind of impact loading. The impact loading of the steam engine would be several times the load of just the axle loading weight.
I am not a bridge engineer so I have no real idea of how the design criteria the bridges were constructed for in the steam era actually compare to the ever increasing loads of todays' cars and locmotives.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BNSF replaced the former CB&Q Lift Bridge over the Mississippi River in the early 2010s.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlington_Rail_Bridge
Here is a video of the replacement showing the old bridge floated out of the way and the new bridge floated in to place.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oyPZQpCvIHw
kgbw49Here is a video of the replacement showing the old bridge floated out of the way and the new bridge floated in to place. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oyPZQpCvIHw
kgbw49 BNSF replaced the former CB&Q Lift Bridge over the Mississippi River in the early 2010s. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlington_Rail_Bridge Here is a video of the replacement showing the old bridge floated out of the way and the new bridge floated in to place. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oyPZQpCvIHw
I should clarify that I have little familiarity with bridges north of St. Louis. The bridges, along with MacArthur, are the UP/MP/SSW at Thebes IL, the CN/IC at Cairo, and the CN/IC BNSF UP at Metropolis. All of the them are of similar age and design. All of them carry significant traffic, and all could be considered an "eyesore", if that's a criteria for replacement.
At one time there were four rail crossings of the mighty Mississippi in St Louis...sort of. At any rate, is it time to think about adding a third railroad bridge in the Rome of the West?
Editor Emeritus, This Week at Amtrak
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