COULD THEBES RAIL BRIDGE CARRY CARS?

THEBES, Ill. -- It is possible that the railroad bridge that spans the Mississippi River at Thebes could be used for vehicular traffic in case a major earthquake destroyed other traffic bridges in the area.

However, a Missouri State Highway and Transportation Department engineer says the concept isn't practical.

Department engineer Al Laffoon said there are more economical and efficient ways of moving vehicular traffic across the river after a disaster strikes.

Railroad officials say the rail-bridge link at Thebes would be needed for trains to carry large amounts of emergency supplies following an earthquake.

Laffoon said, "First, you're talking about spending a lot of money to convert the railroad bridge into a motorized vehicle bridge, and the time it would take to do it. Second, there is no road on the west side of the bridge, so a roadway would have to be built to connect with an existing highway near Scott City.

"Third, it would be a lot more efficient and cost effective to use a ferry boat to move motorized traffic across the river, if you decided to locate the ferry boat at Thebes to begin with. If you're going to use a ferry boat, why not put it in at Cape Girardeau.

"And finally, what about the railroads. They own the bridge. I'm sure they would want to have something to say about all of this."

The idea of converting the Thebes railroad bridge into a traffic bridge came up four years ago when there was a prediction that a major earthquake might occur in the New Madrid Seismic Zone in early December 1990.

The Thebes railroad bridge was completed in April 1905. It replaced a railroad ferry that operated between Grays Point and Thebes by the St. Louis-Southwestern (Cotton Belt) Railroad.

The bridge was built by the Southern Illinois-Missouri Bridge Company, which was formed by a consortium of officers of the Missouri Pacific, Chicago & Eastern Illinois, Cotton Belt, Illinois Central, and St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern railroads.

The bridge is still owned by SIMBCO. Today, the Union Pacific Railroad, which absorbed the Missouri Pacific and CE&I, owns 60 percent of SIMBCO stock. The Southern Pacific, which merged with the Cotton Belt, owns 40 percent of the bridge company.

Alex Tice, spokesman for the Union Pacific in Omaha, Neb., agreed the railroad bridge could be converted into a vehicle bridge. However, he added, "That's assuming it would still be standing. There's no reason to assume that our railroad bridge would not suffer the same fate as other bridges in the region in the event of an earthquake.

"More importantly, if a major disaster occurs, the bridge will be a vital link for emergency rail traffic. It would be more reasonable to put the trucks on flat cars and move them over the bridge by rail.

"And by the time you get through converting the railroad bridge to a vehicle bridge you could take all the money you've spent and build a new bridge."

John Oliver of Cape Girardeau, a member of the Missouri Highway Commission, termed the idea of converting the railroad bridge into a vehicle bridge "novel, but not very practical."

Oliver said, "If there was a disaster that damaged the Cape bridge, they're going to need that rail link at Thebes just as much, if not more, than a people or motorized vehicle link."

State and local emergency services officials in Jefferson City told the Southeast Missourian they are not aware of any plans to convert the railroad bridge into a vehicle bridge if a major quake should occur.

Cape Girardeau County Emergency Services Coordinator Brian Miller said the Thebes railroad bridge is far too valuable -- assuming it is not damaged -- to convert into a vehicle traffic bridge.

Miller said, "The Thebes bridge is a major, transcontinental rail link between the eastern and western United States. It is the only trans-Mississippi rail link between St. Louis and Memphis."