Goodwin Brothers planned and executed this project safely, on time, and on budget. TRRA appreciates their attention to a safe working environment for their crews and subcontractors where trains are running through work zones.
This was a complex project to complete… Well done!
Chief Engineer
The MacArthur Bridge (Bridge) carries two railroad tracks across the Mississippi River, connecting St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois and was constructed from 1912 to 1917. The structure is a critical link in the national freight and passenger rail transportation network, currently carrying approximately 84,000,000 gross tons of rail traffic annually, making the Bridge the fourth busiest rail crossing of the Mississippi River in the United States. The Bridge complex consists of several approaches and three main spans over the river, for a total elevated length of 22,762 feet, making the Bridge the second longest railroad bridge in the United States.
There were several objectives of this project, including addressing transportation challenges by improving an existing clearance restriction caused by the Broadway truss combined with an 8-degree curve into the truss that causes a 317 mile re-route for dimensional loads, such as hazardous materials re-routes, military equipment, and energy equipment. This project increased the effective car width accepted on the Bridge from 13’-4” to 15’-0” by removing the truss which will allow an estimated 20 dimensional loads per year to travel on their most efficient route, through St. Louis.
This project required replacing a key piece of the Bridge needed to continue to serve the Nation’s freight and passenger railroad network in a state of good repair with the ability to handle a 315,000 lbs. Heavy Axle Loading.
Demolition of the railroad bridges over Broadway and the remaining highway bridge recycled approximately 2,000,000 tons of steel. The project worked approximately 30,000 hours with no injuries and no lost time. The MacArthur Bridge is a vital railroad link connecting west to east. In 2012, it was the 17th busiest railroad bridge in the United States carrying roughly 40 trains per day. Upon original completion of the bridge in 1917, the structure was the largest double-deck steel bridge in the world.
