Rail bridges privately inspected

While the details of a recent safety inspection of the Mississippi River bridge at Chester, Ill., will eventually be made public, that's not the case for the railroad bridge crossing at Thebes, Ill.

The difference is, highway bridges are funded by taxpayers and subject to government regulations. Railroad bridges are built and maintained using the private money of corporations. Railroads own U.S. railroad bridges -- an estimated 100,000 in all. Those structures are not regulated by government agencies, according to Steve Kulm, spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration.

"We have a policy guideline regarding railroad bridge safety. We do not have regulations," he said.

Union Pacific owns and maintains the concrete-and-steel Thebes bridge, which went into use in 1905.

"Our objective is to serve customers in the most safe and efficient way possible, as we've been doing for over 145 years," said James Barnes, spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad.

With the exception of passenger routes in and around Chicago, Barnes said, Union Pacific carries "virtually 100 percent freight."

Union Pacific has 414 track miles of bridges, including Thebes, in its 30,000-mile traffic network. Routine inspections are conducted daily somewhere along the track, but not over every inch of every it, Barnes said.

"All bridges, tunnels, trestles, culverts, waterways and other structures are given special inspections at least twice a year," he said.

Like highway inspectors, railroad engineers at times employ a Snooper truck, which works like a double-jointed cherry picker, putting engineers above or below the train bridge deck. Union Pacific also operates two high-speed rail cars, called EC-5s, that conduct electronic inspections six days a week.

Barnes said bridges used for the most tonnage are inspected quarterly and after severe weather, earthquakes, fire "and other conditions that may jeopardize safe train operations."

Every five years, specialists are sent to check superstructure elements of concrete-and-steel bridges, looking at trusses, movable spans and deck-plate girders or towers. Special diving teams check for scour, or the disappearance of soil from under and around piers.

Barnes said additional exams can be ordered if a routine inspection reveals unusual results.

Anyone, from inspectors to train crews to members of the public, can suggest a bridge or track inspection, he said.

Barnes declined to reveal the number or weight of trains crossing Thebes bridge on a daily, weekly, monthly or annual basis, citing security.

"Since 9-11, we have not provided detailed information on our network," he said.

He did not have information on whether the bridge had been renovated or what bridges were considered alternates.

"If a particular part of our system is not available for use through inclement weather or maintenance work, we plan for alternate routes to take place," he said.

He did not know what recent activity took place on Thebes bridge -- a white truck and crew were spotted at work Aug. 16 -- but said, "I suspect it was the inspections."

The bottom line?

"If this bridge was not safe, we would not operate over it," he said.

Kulm said FRA inspectors can target bridges under emergency circumstances only. Results of those exams are available only through Freedom of Information Act requests. The Southeast Missourian has requested records on the Thebes bridge.

"We also have authority to take a railroad bridge out of service or reduce the type of traffic if there is an emergency hazard that we identified," Kulm said.

But the government can't issue fines or civil penalties over bridge safety issues, though it can for land-related infractions, such as signal problems or hazardous materials mishandling.

Old bridges like Thebes, Kulm said, have the benefit of having been designed to bear the weight of much heavier steam locomotives.

"In many cases, they were built very strongly," he said.

FRA officials want to regulate railroad bridges. Bills before the U.S. House and Senate that would authorize the FRA to operate for the next four years will also allow new regulations. Senate Bill 1889 and House Resolution 2095 have been referred to committees for study.

In June, the FRA met with railroad leaders to talk about the future. A second round of formal talks has not been scheduled, he said.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127