Westbrook Associated Engineers, Inc., a civil engineering and land- surveying firm, received the State Finalist Award in the 2005 Engineering Excellence Awards competition for technical innovation, client satisfaction, and contribution to the engineering industry. The award was won in the structural systems category for a railroad bridge replacement project in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

LaCrosse has been a vital railroad location for decades. Currently, about 24 freight trains, two Amtrak passenger trains and ten marine vessels utilize the bridge built over the Black River every day. The bridge, owned and operated by Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), facilitated the railroad’s success as a Midwest carrier and established the importance of LaCrosse as a regional center of transport and trade. Replacement of the one hundred-year-old bridge will secure the location as a strategic shipping point for years to come.

The number one precedence set by CPR throughout the project was maintaining the track and keeping the bridge operational during construction. CPR allotted the contractors a 72-hour time frame to switch-out the old and new bridge.  If train and marine traffic were shut down, substantial amounts of revenue would be lost.

Westbrook was hired to help the contractor meet CPR’s request when challenges during construction arose. During installation of the new bridge, the existing bridge experienced excessive settlement. The settlement occurred due to the poor soil quality and contributed to significant delays in the project. To ensure the bridge settlement was restricted and construction could continue, Westbrook aided in monitoring the bridge. To accomplish this, Westbrook utilized Sol Data Monitoring System from France. The system can monitor settlement with an accuracy of 1/24 of an inch. This project is one of the few projects in the United States to utilize this technology.

After the bridge monitoring system was in place, construction could continue. However, with the risk of the bridge settling, the planned methods of construction could no longer be used. Westbrook developed and designed an innovative system using barges and jacking towers to float-out the old bridge and float-in the new one million pound bridge.

As a result of coordination and planning, the bridge was fully replaced from the old to the new within the 72-hour time frame and without any interruptions to train or barge traffic, saving an enormous amount of money for CPR.

Westbrook Associated Engineers is a civil engineering firm specializing in highway, bridge and structural design, construction inspection and land surveying services.

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