Work finally underway to rebuild the Snyder Street railroad bridge

Many have observed that Snyder Street under the railroad bridge is closed to traffic.

Snyder St. under railroad underpass closed to traffic

Burlington Northern/Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad is doing extensive work to replace structural elements on the bridge. Very large steel beams, appearing to be at least 50 feet long, have been driven into the earth on both sides of the bridge. The sound of a huge impact hammer, mounted on a crane boom several stories high, has echoed through the central part of New Albany.

Splintered beams below the Snyder St. overpass

Friday, Feb 11, we observed that operation. The rig pounded the 50 feet of steel into the ground in about four hours, an impressive sight. Fabled “John Henry, the steel-driving man,” would have been put to shame by that modern outfit.

Shown with this story are several photos of the work and a brief video including sound showing the impact hammer at work.

Only a four hour job for this beam with the correct tools.

Many of the old wooden beams of the structure have been badly splintered for a good while. Some have been been apprehensive or even avoided using the underpass, over which thousands of tons of loaded freight cars pass  every day. The need for work on the underpass has been an item on the agenda of the New Albany Board of Aldermen for at least two years.

NEMiss.News has not been able to get a reliable answer as to how long the work will take and Snyder St. remained closed. Estimates range from two to five weeks.

Some motorists, who use the underpass to avoid being stopped by trains as they go across the railroad right of way, have understandably grumbled a little about Snyder Street being closed.

Video of Snyder St. Bridge work: https://youtu.be/1gZEtCwUarY

Fire at Snyder St. bridge project quickly extinguished.