Oregon port rehabs bridges to prep Coos Bay Rail Line for growth

(Source: Progressive Railroading 04/18/2023)

The first phase of a project to rehabilitate 15 steel bridges along the Coos Bay Rail Line has been completed, the Oregon Port of Coos Bay announced yesterday.

A $20 million grant from the federal Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program and $5 million in Oregon state matching dollars is funding the overall project, port officials said in a press release.

The project is necessary to prepare the rail line for an expected increase in volume, they added.

The first phase included full replacement of the Coalbank Slough Bridge, which is on the rail line approaching the Terminal One property, a 167-acre site the port purchased last year for development as a multi-user marine terminal. The land is a former Georgia Pacific Mill site.

Recently, Scott Partney Construction completed work on 10 additional steel bridges in the Wild Cat Creek area. Work included tie replacement on the bridges and certain approaches; complete replacement of rail on a section of one bridge to improve wing walls to aid in ballast retention; replacing rivets with high-strength bolds; stringer replacement; and web stiffeners.

Legacy Construction has begun the project’s third phase, which will include repairs to all three swing span bridges on the line in North Bend, Reedsport and Cushman.

The project’s final phase will include significant repairs to the Vaughn Viaduct bridge on the north end of the line, which nearly every rail car must pass over.

In the coming months, the port will kick off a tie and ballast replacement project along the line.