Freeport Lift Bridge
The Union Pacific Railroad Company needed to replace an aging swing bridge in Freeport, Texas, and also remove an abandoned vertical lift bridge in Houma, Louisiana. The decision was to refurbish the vertical bridge in Louisiana, and transport it 350 miles to Freeport, Texas for installation.
Throughout the rebuilding process, scheduled to take nearly twelve months, the Freeport swing bridge needed to remain operational for rail and marine traffic. To do so required an acute level of coordination between design and construction teams with both rail and marine traffic schedules.
Faith Technologies’ scope of work for the project included new cabling, control desk, new main motors, brakes, limit switches, aviation beacons, services, generator, and lighting. The bridge’s electrical service is backed up by a Kohler natural gas generator that was provided and installed by Faith Technologies.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Client
Union Pacific Railroad
General Contractor
PCL Civil Constructors
Location
Freeport, TX
Size
258 foot span with a vertical clearance of 69 feet