Join the discussion on the following article:
Floods drop highway bridge on UP main line in eastern Wyoming
Never mind the bridge, the tracks washed out!
Tommy T.
It appears there were no pilings driven into the ground to support the bridge structure over the tracks. Scouring at the base tore away what little support the external concrete walls gave to the structure.
Why would Wyoming DOT approve of a design like this? Where I live, bridges always have pilings that support the horizontal bridge structure. This is crazy! Maybe the UPRR should have looked at the design plans more carefully before approving this bridge…
Three minute video of the extensive flooding in Lusk shows what they are up against: https://youtu.be/8DLhpxqA1C8
“wrecked havoc”? The past tense of “wreak” is “wrought.”
Bryon Thorniley, FYI WY is a very conservative republican state, thus cheap and inexpensive and that its designed for public use, that’s good enough. But if you think that’s bad or strange, you should watch either WY or MT pave a road, including the Interstate. remove existing pavement Tar, layer of gravel chips, roll, then repeat the process till there is a sufficient amount of layers. It’s much different than what’s considered normal in most of the US.
The bridge was built as part of a track relocation that made possible a much needed grade seperation for the highway when this short stretch of the old C&NW “cowboy line” underwent a massive re-building to accommodate Powder River Basin coal traffic. This part of that line was an 80 lb. rail, single track, gravel ballast, 10 mph, tumble weed, one or two trains per week line. It has been transformed into a high speed, two main track, bi- directional CTC, 136 lb. welded rail, with concrete ties rail line. It was an amazing transformation. Typical traffic is now around 45-50 trains per day. The overpass that collapsed was much needed and was built as a part of that massive up-grade
Recently was on I-25 over Raton Pass. Surprised to see what appears to be immaculately maintained double-track all the way with intact signaling. Seems odd for a line abandoned except for the once-a-day each way Southwest Chief. In Trinidad the sorting yard is empty but perfect. No rolling stock. No locomotives. Not a single rail torn up. Not a switchman in sight. Eerie. Like something a compulsive-retentive model railroader might build and never operate. Why the double track? Why a yard in Trinidad? Why the signals?
You hit the spike right on the head L.G. Haws. Same stuff goes on right here in the great state of Indiana, but I did hear a rumor that it was those dadgum liberals that sent all that rain to Wyoming. Sounds just like somthin’ they’d do! Next thing you know, Obama will be invadin’ Texas.
This has to be the worst, most confusing, unworkable mess I’ve ever seen. No way in hades will it work, such as bringing up the “Next Day”, and I for one at least, am sick and tired of having to type in my email address and ‘secret code’ every single time I want to look at the news. I do not change my email address six times a day! Go back to the previous system, for goodness sake!
I would have to agree with Richard Harrison from Oregon. I have never liked this new system for
giving us the news. It is too easy to lose the logged status. If you would provide the method of
staying logged on until we logged off, maybe we could like this new system.