Western Railroad Discussion > UP Double Tracking in Sugar Land TX

The UP is double tracking the Sunset Route through Missouri City, Stafford and Sugar Land TX, all the way up to the Grand Parkway Bridge. First photo is at Gillingham Ln looking east, and then looking west. They have been gradually making the line double tracked all the way from West Jct.

A couple of strange things about this. They have been closing off grade crossings along here, presumably to build the crossing for the second track. However, when they reopen them, all they have done is replace the crossing for the original track. It seems like while the cross is closed, they would build the crossing for both tracks. It looks like they will have to close them again when they put in the second track.

The other thing is the bridges they have to build. Back when this line was owned by SP, the bridge for the Sam Houston Toll Road was built for two tracks even though poor old SP probably couldn't even think of double tracking it at the time. Therefore, when UP double tracked it a couple of years ago, it was easily done. However, after UP took over, the bridges at Staffordshire Rd. Murphy Rd and US 59 were built and they were not built for 2 tracks. The bridges at US 59 don't even appear to have abutments in place for a second track. It is going to be a major project to get those bridges built, with a lot of traffic disruption. I wonder why UP just didn't go ahead and build those bridges for 2 tracks a few years ago when it was already announced and pretty obvious they were going to double track this line to Sugar Land and probably eventually to Rosenberg. Not doing so is going to make this take a lot longer and I would imagine significantly more expensive.

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Thanks for the cool pictures and the update.

You point out a fact not apparent to Omaha: The SP Public Projects Engineers (I knew several) were on their game; throughout the system they were able to get many highway overpasses and underpasses built for future second tracks.
This was an enormous help in Southern California when Metrolink was started, we had bridges for a second main track or a siding at three locations and overpasses wide enough for the second track at many more.
Lots of local knowledge and working relationships with city, county, and state highway officials made it happen.

You know, I was just going to say something about that and refer to you. Thanks.

I would love to know HOW & WHO, really paid for them. There are a bunch of bridges like that, ready for another set with the abutments standing. Even the Siskiyous, where the SP crossed I-5 going down the hill between Siskiyou and Mistletoe & that was done in the early 60s.

It would be interesting to see how many were put in like that and never used ,to date. Someone at the Glass House had his stuff together back then.

Nudge

At least there are abutments at Murphy Road and Staffordshire Road, so it looks like all they have to do is drop in the steel girders. Shouldn't be too bad, and in fact, those roads might be shut down this weeek for that work. I will have to check tomorrow. Those two roads were finished perhaps 3-4 years ago, so maybe the double tracking was nearer on the horizon. At US 59, as far as I can tell, there is nothing for a second track. Those 2 bridges were built around 2005 if memory serves. Building a second span there will be very disruptive. It will be interesting to see what they do. Perhaps they need a ganlet track!

They are just about finish with the bridge in Sugar Land just before the old sugar plant and they have heavy equipment at U.S. 59 bridge, so they are getting ready to do some type of bridge work.

These two pictures were taken today. The first at the grade crossing at Gillingham and the second at Eldridge. Both grade crossings were closed the past couple of weeks, and this is the result. Not sure I quite understand. It looks like they rebuilt the existing track's grade crossing, and left a patch of some sort they can take away for the second track. Not sure why they just didn't go ahead and put the second track in. That just means they will have to close these grade crossings again.

The underpass at Murphy Rd. is closed now so they can built the second bridge. Quite a traffic mess today. All would have been avoided if they had just double tracked that bridge in the first place!

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