Slideshow of bridge work photos taken by Brett Quirk. The long approach bridge spans across the Ohio River bottoms south of Evansville, IN and the big thru truss bridge over the Ohio River at Henderson, KY. Total length is 2.5 miles.
The ballast deck bridge needed wood ties installed again after the concrete ties pulverized the granite ballast. The weight of the train would cause the ballast to get pulverized over time between the concrete ties and concrete deck. Wood ties absorb the weight energy and let the ballast sink into the bottom of the wooden tie unlike a concrete tie. Ballast was pushed off the deck bridge after the rail section was removed then, after a new section of rail was installed, new ballast was dumped.
The work took place between 2007 & 2009.