CN officially opens new bridge

Ken Johnston

126,000 bolts and 4+million pounds of steel later the 103 year old swing span railway bridge between Rainy River and Baudette has been replaced.
Jim Vena, CN General Manager (Prairie Region), said that he moved into his job in Winnipeg about 3.5 years ago and not long after Steve Del Vecchio, manager of bridges and structures in the prairie region, was telling him that they were going to replace the aged bridge at Rainy River. The kicker was he told him that they were going to have to shut down the line for upwards of 20 hours. “Shutting down the main line is very serious and when Steve told me this I said you have to do it in less,” said Vena. But when he learned that the job would require the shutdown to take place three times he became a bit uneasy. However, after revisiting the plans, staff members said that they had planned to the fullest of their abilities and convinced him the three shutdowns were needed.
Vena said he was very impressed with the way the construction went and noted that when the shutdowns took place that a great deal of other track work along the line took place. “All went well. Even the weather was cooperative.”
The decision to replace the ailing bridge was made in 2002 and that set the wheels in motion for the replacement of the 1,106 ft. long swing span bridge. The new bridge is comprised of six Through Trusses and was designed by CN engineer P.C. Lin. Lin said it was a simple bridge to design.
Existing piers were utilized with steel plates added to them to prevent ice damage. Some concrete repair work was done to the tops and the center pier was modified slightly as it used to be the pier that the center span rotated on.
According to CN, the swing-span only turned three times, the last being in 1954.
The new trusses were fabricated by Waiward Steel Fabricators Ltd. of Edmonton, Alberta. Over 33,000 man hours were required to make them and assemble them. Assembly was completed this past August and on Sept. 8th, spans six and seven were rolled into place. The remaining spans, four, five, two and three, were installed on Sept. 22 and Oct. 6th respectively.
Temporary pilings were pounded into the riverbed next to the old bridge. Some were used to assemble two trusses and the rest were used to slide the old spans out. Giant floating jacks were used to lift the old pieces out and float the new ones in.
CN employees constructed and installed 36 panels of 30-foot long track panels and installed 2,162 feet of walkway and handrails on the new spans.
Gen. Mgr. Vena said the entire project went real well and accident free. He said the only regret he had is that it will not be painted. That is because the steel used will only rust so deep and then will not rust anymore. Very proud of the bridge he joked with those involved in the project, “You sure we can’t get a coat of paint on it?”
The project, which cost $13.4 million was completed on time and on budget. Last Tuesday morning the Mayor of Rainy River Glen Armstrong and Mayor of Baudette Rick Rone officially cut the ribbon on it opening the bridge to rail traffic.
After the ribbon ceremony on the bridge everyone went back to the Rainy River Legion for a few speeches and presentations. Vena presented Mayor Glen Armstrong with the original bridge’s construction plate and gave special gifts to each Mayor for participating in the event.
Mayor Glen Armstrong congratulated CN on the project and said, “It is our hope that Rainy River and its citizens will continue to play an integral role in the company’s success.”
The line through Rainy River is CNs main line from Winnipeg to Chicago and averages 17-18 trains per day with 80-85% of the traffic going to the states. According to Vena, the Rainy River line has the busiest border crossing for CN in western Canada.