A key link for CSX Transportation’s (CSXT) along the U.S. Gulf Coast, the Chef Menteur Pass Railroad Bridge was originally built in 1925 and is a single-track, 280-foot center-bearing swing bridge with three truss spans. As part of a larger General Engineering Consultant task order contract with CSXT, STV performed engineering design services to rehabilitate the bridge’s lower chord and floor system and improve overall operations between New Orleans, LA, and Mobile, AL.
STV’s team developed a staged rehabilitation of the lower chord by designing new chord elements that fit between the existing chord elements, all while keeping the swing span mechanical equipment and supports operational. To execute on this plan, the design was phased to start at the bridge’s center pivot area and work outwards between panel points. Temporary supports for machinery were then embedded into the design and the new chord elements were installed with no impacts to rail service.
