Western Railroad Discussion > Metrolink, San Bernardino, bridge

Removal of the old iron Mt. Vernon Ave bridge west of the historic Santa Fe Depot and yards in San Bernardino haulted Metrolink service west to LA for a day (or 2, 3?) on Saturday, photo looking west. The triple BNSF-UP-AMTRAK main kept rolling at the right, but parts or all of it may be interupted soon.....like when a ship sticks in a canal. Plans are to rebuild the bridge. The San Bernardino History and Railroad Museum remains open every Sat., 10 to 3, free. (They have many fine RR books for sale.)

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Thanks for the Update.
I used to park my Exterminator truck under that bridge, every month, to place rodent control bait around the 2 Metrolink electrical boxes there, from about 2011 to 2014. (The critters liked to chew on the wire insulation, and cause problems)

Back then, You could look up and see crumbling/cracked cement, and steel plate patches all around the sides, and underneath that bridge, along with small bits of old fallen concrete on the ground.

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

RailRat Wrote:
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> Thanks for the Update.
> I used to park my Exterminator truck under that
> bridge, every month, to place rodent control bait
> around the 2 Metrolink electrical boxes there,
> from about 2011 to 2014. (The critters liked to
> chew on the wire insulation, and cause problems)
>
> Back then, You could look up and see
> crumbling/cracked cement, and steel plate patches
> all around the sides, and underneath that bridge,
> along with small bits of old fallen concrete on
> the ground.

Which is why they closed it to all trucks about 3 or 4 years ago.
This viaduct replacement has been a long time coming.

I would imagine it would be a lot easier to take down a Iron -Steel bridge then a concrete one.

Trainman41 Wrote:
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> I would imagine it would be a lot easier to take
> down a Iron -Steel bridge then a concrete one.

And this one is a combo. Steel framework holding up concrete roadway panels.
And there seems to be a contest between the framework and the rebar in the concrete on which can corrode the fastest.
That and truck drivers driving over weight trucks over it.

Spikes Wrote:
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> .....like when a ship sticks in a canal. 

Off topic, but I thought this was a good one.

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NWRail Wrote:
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> Spikes Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > .....like when a ship sticks in a canal. 
>
>Off topic, but I thought this was a good one.
 I like it.

Malcolm
New Zealand

That and truck drivers driving over weight trucks over it.

Where did you get your info about overweight trucks?

Posted from Android

needles_sub Wrote:
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> That and truck drivers driving over weight trucks
> over it.
>
> Where did you get your info about overweight
> trucks?
>
> Posted from Android

Been written up in the local papers a couple of times. Truck drivers were leaving the intermodal yard on 4th Street and turning right onto the viaduct despite the signs saying not to.
This was the main reason they dead ended W 4th St about 50 feet short of Mt. Vernon. The weight limits for the viaduct have been very limited since about 2000 or so when a couple of pieces of concrete fell into the yard.

The newest ship to be launched from evergreen is the be renamed the (Ever Forgiven.)  LOL