(The following appeared on the Ogden Reporter website on September 30, 2009.)
OGDEN, Utah — The new Union Pacific railroad bridge northeast of Ogden will be officially opened and named in a ceremony labeled “not your ordinary ribbon cutting Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009 beginning at 2 p.m. at the UP railroad depot at 900 Story Street in Boone.
Union Pacific Chairman and CEO Jim Young, Director of Iowa Department of Transportation Nancy Richardson, and Boone Mayor John Slight will participate in the ceremony.
The event will officially open and name the new railroad bridge, one of the highest double-track railroad bridges in North America, coming in at 2,813 feet long and 190 feet high above the Des Moines River. After remarks from Jim Young, Director Richardson and Mayor Slight, officials and media will board a train to go look at the new bridge close up.
The public is invited to attend the remarks at the UP depot.
The 108-year-old bridge was in need of replacement after years of use. The maximum speed trains could operate on the old bridge was 25 mph resulting in congestion along UP’s busy corridor linking Chicago to the West Coast. The new structure improves operational efficiency and supports growth in UP’s customers’ businesses and increased freight capacity. Two trains can operate on the new bridge at 70 mph.