Wabash Bridge (St. Charles, Missouri)

Wabash Bridge
Coordinates 38°47′51″N 90°28′02″W / 38.7974°N 90.4673°W / 38.7974; -90.4673Coordinates: 38°47′51″N 90°28′02″W / 38.7974°N 90.4673°W / 38.7974; -90.4673
Carries Norfolk Southern Railway
Crosses Missouri River
Locale St. Louis County and St. Charles County in Missouri
Characteristics
Design Cantilevered Through Truss Bridge
History
Opened 1936
The first Wabash Bridge 1871

The Wabash Bridge carries a single track railroad from St. Louis County to the city of St. Charles. It is positioned next to the Discovery Bridge. It is used by the freight trains of Norfolk Southern Railway.

History

The current Wabash Bridge, built in 1936, replaced an older bridge of the same name that was built about half a mile upstream. The original Wabash Bridge, built in 1871, was the first bridge in St. Charles County.

1870 - A 15-foot steel column collapses during construction. Eighteen bridge workers killed

1879 - A portion of the Wabash Bridge collapsed while a train was crossing. Eighteen cars fell in to the river and five men were killed.[1]

1881 - The Wabash Railroad Bridge, once again, fails. 31 cattle perish and freight cars are hurled into the river. John Kirby, an engineer, was the only human fatality.

In 1884, the Montana, a large steamboat, collided with the first Wabash Bridge. The Montana's remains lie to this date on the St. Louis County side of the Missouri River near the site of the first Wabash Bridge.

In June 2013, the Missouri River rose rapidly overnight causing a crane mounted to a barge to collide into the truss structure of the bridge. The crane, Subcontracted by The Walsh Group was working up river on the new I-70 Blanchette Bridge. Train traffic across the bridge was halted for the four days while the crane was against the structure.

In 2016, owner operator Norfolk Southern Corporation began installing a new tie deck across the bridge under the supervision of Structural Supervisor Brett McAllister. Tie Deck install should complete in 2020.

See also

References


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