Western Railroad Discussion > Moving Bridges At Drano Lake: A Triple Feature

I captured three time-lapse videos of this morning's bridge replacement on the BNSF line along the north bank of the Columbia River.

The 112-year-old former Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway bridge was located at the mouth to Drano Lake, about 7 miles west of Bingen, Washington.

The old bridge was moved about out of the way under cover of darkness, and amidst a blanket of smoke. It was gone by 6 a.m. All the while, fishermen launched boats and trolled the waters, seeking salmon and steelhead.

After about 2 hours of prep work — demolishing parts of the old bridge supports, and work on the right-of-way at each end of the bridge — the new structure was floated into place beginning about 8:20 a.m. It was largely in position by 9 a.m. Crews bolted the new bridge into place sometime after that.

I've edited the three time-lapse videos into one movie, which is posted here.

• In the first scene, the old bridge is floated out of the way.

• The second scene shows another part of the old bridge being lifted out of the way.

• And in the third scene, the new bridge is floated into place. A tug pushing the barge is on the far side of the barge.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/20 18:53 by walstib.

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Considerably more substantial is how I would describe the new bridge at Drano Lake.

Here's a comparison of the two bridges. That's the old bridge on the left, and the new one on the right.

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Very cool video!

Larry

And the barge didn't drop "anchor", because it doesn't have one. Those are spuds. Basically a pipe or pile that raised or lowered to the sea bed. They firmly hold the barge in position.
Anchors on chains allow movement. Spuds don't. 

Very cool operation!

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

PHall Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------>> Those are spuds. Basically a pipe or pile that raised or lowered to the sea
bed. They firmly hold the barge in position.

Spuds, eh? That’s good to know. Thanks.

Posted from iPhone

walstib Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> PHall Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> ---->> Those are spuds. Basically a pipe or pile
> that raised or lowered to the sea
> bed. They firmly hold the barge in position.
>
> Spuds, eh? That’s good to know. Thanks.
>
> Posted from iPhone
If the vessel secured doesn't float away, then is its "anchor" a "good spud?"

Very cool video. Thanks for your efforts. Is the line open for traffic now?

Kim Heusel

The schedule called for the line to re-open by 3 p.m. Monday. I imagine earlier is always a possibility.

I’ll buzz by there this afternoon on my way out of town and have a look, and hopefully catch a train or two.

Posted from iPhone

billio Wrote:
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> If the vessel secured doesn't float away, then is its "anchor" a "good spud?"

It comes down to the accuracy of the anchor point. If you are just trying to stop a boat from floating away an anchor or two that allows the boat to move in the water is fine. But if you are trying to stop the boat from moving in the water the spuds are better. In this case a near zero tollerance for movement is needed. Spuds work.

Excellent documentation as always, Brian!

Rich

I enjoyed the video...