Galveston Causeway Vertical Lift Railroad Bridge
Galveston, Texas
Client:
Galveston County, BNSF, and U.S. Coast Guard
Project Size:
382-foot main lift span; 800-foot-long underwater tunnel; two, 160-foot-tall steel towers totaling 6 million pounds of structural steel
Recognition:
ABC Alabama Excellence in Construction Award
ABC National Excellence in Construction Eagle Award
Alabama AGC BuildSouth Award
This joint venture project with Cianbro consisted of erecting the new Galveston Causeway Railroad Bridge and constructing an 800-foot-long tunnel under Galveston Bay to carry new water lines. The bridge is a 382-foot main lift span that rises 80 feet to allow Intercoastal waterway traffic on Galveston Bay to pass under the BNSF Railroad. All bridge work, including electrical, was self-performed by joint venture forces.
Placement of the bridge was a unique challenge. The 1,580-ton main span was built at the port, placed on barges, and then floated into place. This float-out/float-in procedure had to be completed within a 72-hour marine channel shutdown, with only a 12-hour window to close the bridge from rail traffic. View a video of the bridge placement below.