FORT MADISON, Iowa — BNSF Railway’s bridge across the Mississippi River between Fort Madison and Niota, Ill., was briefly closed today after having been struck by a barge, but has been reopened, according to authorities.
The Hancock County (Ill.) Sheriff’s Office reported the closure at about 1:40 p.m.; police in Fort Madison posted on Facebook about the barge strike at roughly the same time but have since updated their report to indicate the bridge has been reopened, saying BNSF “has certified the bridge is safe and resumed both rail and vehicular traffic.”
The railroad-owned, 1,675-foot-long bridge was built between 1927 and 1929 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, carrying two tracks for BNSF’s Southern Transcon on its lower level and two lanes of vehicles on Iowa Route 2/Illinois Route 9 on its upper level. The majority of the bridge is in Illinois. The Iowa Department of Transportation describes it as a ridged-connect, double-deck swing truss bridge that opened on July 28, 1927, and says its 525-foot electrified swing span was the longest and heaviest in the country at the time it was built.
WGEM-TV reports the bridge was struck by a barge owned by the Ingram Barge Co. of Nashville, Tenn. The station has photos of the barge sinking. The barge reportedly was carrying corn.
A long-term closure of the bridge would have not only been a significant problem for the railroad, but for local residents, who would have faced detours north to Burlington, Iowa (approximately 20 miles north), or south to Keokuk (approximately 25 miles on the Iowa side) for the nearest river crossings.
For us diehard totally over the top BNSF fans, notice the EMDs in the Colorado article and the GE or Wabtec in this Fort Madison article. I watch the Fort Mad railcam. 100% GE/Wabtec on both BNSF lines (ex-Santa Fe main and ex CBQ branch). Also through Fort Mad, 100% GE on Amtrak. And I once saw a UPRR intermodal on trackage rights through Fort Mad, that was GE or Wabtec also. The only exception, and I do mean the only, was a very lost KCS EMD trailing on a Santa Fe – route train.
If I’d not been in Colorado last year, I’d not have known that BNSF owns EMDs also. These include (both in the photo and what I myself saw in Colorado) the very old BN EMDs in that silver and black livery. How old? BN and ATSF merged in 1995, and BN’s black/ silver units had been around for a few years even back then. So, BNSF rosters 30+ year old units not repainted.