(The following story by Christina Burke appeared on the Victoria Advocate website on July 17.)
REFUGIO, Texas — Union Pacific Railroad crews removed the 102 year-old 303,000 pound truss on the bridge spanning the Mission River parallel to U.S. Highway 77 on Monday. It was a feat of structural engineering to replace the truss with a beam and girder bridge.
“A truss in the bridge was replaced as part of ongoing repairs,” said Jean Hinkle a spokesperson for Union Pacific. Texas is one of the largest areas in which UP operates said Hinkle.
The improvements are part of the $1.6 billion 2008 Union Pacific plan to maintain tracks across its more than 32,300 mile system. Additionally, it is to ensure safe quality and cost-effective service according to a press release from the company that operates in 23 states west of the Mississippi River.
The century old truss bridge style of building is no longer employed in modern America. They are costly to maintain and present height restrictions to whatever is passing under them.
“A truss bridge has a sub structure or super structure over it made out of a series of triangles tied together for strength, you don’t see them anymore. The Harbor Bridge in Corpus is an example of one,” said Barry Beuershausen, a retired teacher who taught technology education at Refugio High School and holds a degree industrial arts.
“I actually used that bridge as a teaching aid for quite a few years,” he said.
His curiosity led him to the edge of the Mission River, where he once took students on field trips, to witness the massive undertaking. After months of preparation the new bridge was put in place immediately replacing the bridge rails and all he said. “It was before midnight when I heard the first train come through, they did it in pretty quick time.”
Expensive to maintain and costly to move the city declined the railroads offer for the entire bridge. “The top portion, called the portal, is going to be given to the city and the rest will be recycled,” said Hinkle.
County officials are still undecided about where to place it.
“We may use it for an entrance to the park,” said Rindle Wilson, Refugio county commissioner Precinct 1 who was en route to Kyak Park to do a visual inspection of the area.
The removal of the rusty structure will mark the start of upgrades to the park.
“Part of the requirement was to put a handicapped accessible entry to the river as well as repair and replace the roads to the original condition. It’ll be safer by having that new bridge,” said Wilson. “We’re going to have a better park than before.”