UP bridge out at Clinton, IA?

[ubie8]

Read a post on another railfan web site very recently that the Mississippi R. bridge near Clinton IA on the UP was out with no ETA for repair. No trains EB were being called out of Clinton. Can anyone verify this information?

 

[brad_in_omaha]

Did you ever find anything out? I think that bridge is going to be replaced and the parts for it might be the parts sitting in Council Bluffs for a couple years now.

 

[ubie8]

Brad, I had received a quick response from pnger64:

> pnger64 Wrote:

I have not (heard any updates) but I am assuming that they resolved the issue later that day as traffic was back to normal on the Boone sub (Boone Iowa) the next morning.

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It appeared to be a short-term problem. When we passed through Clinton, the bridge was in place and there were no traffic problems. It IS quite an old bridge and would not be surprised if it was replaced. BTW, I visited your web site: you are an expert photographer, for sure! Very nice. I am nothing but a bumbling amateur (no exaggeration or self-effacing modesty...just plain true).

 

[JeffLH]

Every now and then the swing bridge breaks down. When it happens to break in the open position, things come to a stop until it's fixed. It is planned to be replaced but there is no current date specified. It's been talked about for quite a few years, but the only recent action taken was the UP buying back the old Clinton CNW/union station. Most likely to be torn down in the future. Originally the new bridge was supposed to be a fixed structure tall enough for river traffic to pass underneath. The last I heard was they were thinking of a lift bridge due to the expense and difficulty of gaining elevation to go over the river on a fixed bridge.