NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. — BNSF Railway is planning to use controlled blasting for the demolition of the bridge over the Big Sioux River that collapsed in flooding in June, KTLV-TV reports.
The railroad has obtained the necessary local permits to conduct the blasting, but still needs a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that will allow changes to the river levee before it can proceed with the demolition process. The railroad’s demolition plan calls for construction of a temporary levee known as a ring levee; this will allow removal of a small portion of the existing level to allow equipment access to remove the bridge spans.
Updated plans plans call for a controlled blast on the South Dakota side of the river on Aug. 19 and another on the Iowa side on Sept. 6, with initial work beginning Friday, Aug. 9. The railroad is beginning door-to-door notification of all residences and business within a 1,000-foot radius of the project, and will also involve local law enforcement and first responders in the process. More specific information on the timing of the explosives use will be released later.
BNSF’s permit request with the Corps of Engineers estimates the entire bridge-removal process will take five to six weeks, with the temporary levees and access roads in place for two to three weeks on each side of the river. Plans for a replacement bridge and its construction will be submitted separately.
The bridge, also used by the D&I Railroad through trackage rights, collapsed the night of June 23 when the Big Sioux River crested more than 6 feet above its previous flood-stage record [see “BNSF bridge on South Dakota-Iowa state line collapses,” Trains News Wire, June 2024, 2024].
— Updated Aug. 9 at 7:30 a.m. with new date for first controlled blast, according to a KTIV-TV report.
Government bureaucracy at it’s finest. Got to dot the I’s and cross all the T’s. Get it to the proper department. Let it sit for weeks on desk. Hope it get’s approved.
I mean time increased operating cost for railroads and inconvenience to customers. The new American way.
Will BNSF replace the bridge?
From the article: “Plans for a replacement bridge and its construction will be submitted separately.”
If this was a mainline, this would be done by now. Being an underused branch line, they were able to take their time on permitting it appears.