Old 34 closed for new bridge, regrading project

 RED OAK — Nearly three years after two people died in a train collision, a county bridge damaged in the accident is being replaced. 

200th Street, formerly Highway 34, closed about three weeks ago when demolition crews started removing the bridge, located just south of the intersection with Boxelder Ave. 

The final pieces of the bridge were removed Wednesday. 

While describing the bridge removal as a “smooth process,” Montgomery County Engineer Brad Skinner said working around an active train line presented some challenges. 

“There was lots of organization and coordinating this with BNSF,” he said. “Usually, they can get a couple hour windows to work in. But that was difficult during demolition because you have to protect the tracks … so there’s not a lot of time to actually do the demolition work.”

With a total price tag of $1.9 million, the county will be responsible for about 60 percent of the cost. In addition to a $350,000 settlement from Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the county received a $500,000 grant from the state. 

One of only four projects awarded grant funds in the entire state, Skinner said the decision to replace the 1930’s bridge was much easier. 

“It just made sense to replace it,” Skinner said. “We had already budgeted, before the accident, money for a major rehab on it anyway.”

There will be two changes to the bridges design, although both will be negligible. Skinner said it will be moved about 15 feet east and will have seven-foot higher elevation to allow for more clearance for rail cars. 

With 200th Street closed west of the Red Oak Livestock Barn to allow for the bridge replacement, the County Board of Supervisors agreed to conduct a separate highway project located just a few feet north.

At the intersection of 200th Street and Boxelder Ave., a separate contractor is regrading the intersection with the goal of increasing visibility. 

“The county has wanted to do this project for 25-30 years,” Skinner said of the intersection regrading. “It’s a dangerous intersection.”

Skinner said the low points on the east approach will be raised about seven feet while the higher approach on the west side of the intersection will be dropped about five feet. 

That project is expected to be completed by mid-July and is expected to cost less than $500,000.

The highway will reopen once the bridge is completed, which Skinner thinks should be done by Labor Day, barring any unforeseen weather-related complications. 

However, more work remains in the near future for the highway. 

First, Skinner said approaches to the regraded intersection and new bridge will remain gravel for at least a year, allowing for a firmer foundation.

“It’s an inconvenience to drive over the gravel in the short term, but you get a much better paving project in the long term,” he said. 

At the same time the approaches are repaved, Skinner said the county will do the same to Boxelder farther south. 

Additonally, the County has also received additional funds to widen the highway, starting west of the Red Oak Industrial Park. No timetable currently exists for that project.