Omaha-based Union Pacific’s engineering crews recently rebuilt a 127-year-old freight rail bridge in downtown Lincoln, Neb., in less than two weeks. The steel and timber bridge spans Salt Creek and is a key freight service corridor for regional agricultural customers.
“Eight days later, our teams safely put this bridge back in service,” Eric Gehringer, Union Pacific executive vice president of operations, said. “It’s an incredible accomplishment and a testament to the expertise, determination and safety mindset of our people working through a complex operation.”
Workers labored around-the-clock to demolish timber sections and replace them with concrete spans and to drive new piles, reposition the truss, install track panels and ballast, and reinforce the structure. Crews assembled a 300-ton crane on site to lift and reposition a steel truss that weighs the equivalent of more than three Boeing 737 aircraft…