SANDPOINT, Idaho — BNSF has opened its second bridge over Lake Pend Oreille in Sandpoint, Idaho, providing a second track at a previously one-track bottleneck nearly a year ahead of schedule.
The nearly mile-long bridge, next to a structure built by Northern Pacific in 1904, opened on Sunday, Nov. 20.
“We are excited about the benefits this second bridge brings, including reducing congestion and helping to move current rail traffic more efficiently,” Matt Jones, director of public affairs for BNSF, said in a press release. “Mostly though, we are incredibly grateful to the residents of Sandpoint and the greater Bonner County area for their patience and support throughout the three-year construction of the new bridge.”
The new 4,873-foot bridge consists of 49 spans, 224 precast concrete girdes and six-pile bents totaling approximately 55,000 feet of 36-inch pipe pile. Its completion will allow closure of the existing bridge for modernization work, expected to be completed in mid-2023.
Other work to be completed before the single-track bottleneck is fully eliminated will include work on the right-of-way past the Sandpoint depot served by Amtrak’s Empire Builder. The platform there will be rebuilt to allow the second main to fit between the station and the existing main [see “BNSF’s new Sandpoint, Idaho, bridge nears opening,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 10, 2022].
