Sauk City Railroad Bridge

Click to view a video of the demolition

The Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission hired Westbrook to assist in pier rehabilitation for the Sauk City Railroad Bridge. One of the old concrete piers that supported the railroad truss had been undermined by river scour to the extent that is was unstable and beginning to rotate.

Unfortunately, every time we disturbed the river bottom, the old pier shifted. We abandoned this plan and decided to develop plans for a temporary/permanent pier and completely remove the old pier by blasting. Again, as we began driving piles in the river bottom for the new temporary pier, the old pier shifted. Westbrook and the contractor determined that the only solution left was to use controlled demolition to remove the truss span and old concrete pier.

We helped the contractor keep costs low by working through a variety of alternatives. By hosting a number of meetings at the site with the owner, DNR, contractor and state officials, we successfully streamlined the approval process. Construction 2002.