KCSR completes timber bridge rebuilds in Louisiana subdivision

Kansas City Southern Railway Co. (KCSR) recently rebuilt six timber bridges in the Beaumont Subdivision in an area known as the Sabine River bottoms near Starks, La.

The objective: to increase track speed to add capacity along the busy track section, KCSR officials said in an item posted on the "KCS News" web page.

In 2012, the railroad began to evaluate construction methods for the project, based on the length of work windows and manpower needed to minimize traffic disruptions. KCSR officials decided to build all six bridges on the line with engineering work windows totaling six to eight hours each day, and crews working eight days on and six days off.

"Ultimately, this approach saved the company a great deal on overall project costs, due to [our] first-hand knowledge of train operations and expertise in efficiently managing manpower, equipment and materials," KCSR officials said.

The location of the six bridges posed a challenge because there's no direct access to roads, other than by rail, to mobilize manpower, equipment or materials, they said. The nearest grade crossing to any of the six bridges was at least one mile away and only one spur track was nearby for storing track equipment.

"Extensive planning and coordination was necessary to minimize work window interruptions," KCSR officials said.