St. Louis Bridge Constr., Co.

Scope Of Work

The MacArthur Bridge was built in 1917, creating a vital link over the Mississippi River for vehicular traffic on the upper deck and rail traffic on the lower deck. The upper deck was closed to vehicular traffic in 1981 due to deterioration and the availability of other structures allowing traffic to cross the river. The rail deck below remains in service, and now serves nearly 90 trains per day. The deteriorated condition of the roadway deck over the trains has created an unsafe condition, allowing rubble to fall on to the live train track below and endangering the safety of the train traffic. Work on this project began on the Illinois side and will continue towards the Missouri side of the river. The work is completed in spans beginning with saw cutting and slab removal. Once the steel is exposed, the stringers and floor beams are removed in the span. This work is carefully performed as to not damage the existing truss or the railroad tracks. Work continues in this fashion, span by span, until all of the deck is removed and holds no additional threat to the railroad tracks below.