An extensive overhaul of the main four-beam span of the railroad bridge that crosses Maple Street in White River Junction next to Hartford Town Hall began Friday, snarling traffic that was down to just one lane and backing cars clear into New Hampshire for periods of time. However, by Sunday evening the project was ahead of schedule and all the beams had been refurbished and replaced, leaving engineers optimistic that disruptions on Monday will be minimal.
Crews from ECI Construction removed all four I-beams that support the railroad track on Friday in order to replace the one that been punctured and bent in February when it was struck by a garbage truck at high speed, sending the driver to the hospital. All photos © Eric Francis.
The bridge serves freight train traffic on the Vermont side of the Connecticut River running from White River Junction up to Newport, Vermont and beyond to Montreal. The bridge was still usable after the blow from the truck earlier in the year, but the force of the impact bent the large bolts holding the bridge to the stone piers and crews had to bend and saw some of the metal in order to wiggle the I-beams loose.
Hot metal sparks flew as workers sawed loose a stubborn bolt, finally releasing one of the beams that had been wedged into the pier by the terrific impact seven months ago.
Late Sunday evening crews began replacing the ties over the span and plans called for the track replacement and alignment to continue on Monday, but the hope was that most of the remaining work would not require further lane closures on Maple Street.
Eric Francis is a veteran Upper Valley freelancer, covering crime, fires, natural disasters, and the occasional rail bridge repair.
