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Rehabilitative work to 10 steel bridges on Coos Bay Rail Line concludes

[ April 19, 2023   //   ]

In 2019, the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay received a grant of $20 million through the BUILD program from the Federal government and matching funds of $5 million from the State of Oregon to complete a comprehensive rehabilitation program for 15 steel bridges along the Coos Bay Rail Line (CBRL), with the vision of strengthening the line to meet future increased volume along the line.
The first phase of the project has been completed with the full replacement of the Coalbank Slough Bridge. This is the last bridge on the line approaching the Terminal One property, a 167-acre site that was formerly a Georgia Pacific Mill purchased by the Port in 2022 for redevelopment as a multi-user marine terminal.
Work has recently been completed by Scott Partney Construction on ten additional steel bridges in the Wild Cat Creek area. Work included tie replacement on the bridges and certain approaches, complete replacement of a section of rail on one of the bridges improving wing walls to aid in ballast retention, replacing rivets with high strength bolds, stringer replacement, and web stiffeners.
In total, the project cost approximately $1.88 million and took just over a year to complete. Legacy Construction has initiated the third phase of the project, which will include repairs to all three of the swing span bridges on the line in North Bend, Reedsport, and Cushman. The final phase of this project will include significant repairs to the Vaughn Viaduct bridge on the north end of the line, which nearly ever rail car must pass over.
In the coming months, the port will also be kicking off a comprehensive tie and ballast replacement project throughout the line. This work will be funded by a $10 million grant through the Port Infrastructure and Development program, with the goal of increasing overall train speeds on the line.

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