Obsolete railcars are getting a reprieve from the scrapper’s torch to serve as vital road links in an area of North Carolina ravaged by Hurricane Helene.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation and Innovative Bridge Co. are installing retired railroad flatcars as a quick fix to temporarily replace road bridges damaged or destroyed by the storm this past September.
Petal, Mississippi-based IBC has so far installed more than 40 railcar bridges in seven counties.
The company typically installs 180-200 such bridges each year, handling jobs from Texas to Pennsylvania. This was its first disaster response job.
The railcar bridges, paved and with railings installed, are one-third the cost of a typical temporary bridge.
The NCDOT expects to have all bridge reconstruction projects under contract by the end of March and all spans rebuilt within two years.
Related coverage:
Local service still a sticking point for Class I railroads
US rail volume still up in latest weekly statistics
Tax credit would upgrade, expand US rail freight car fleet
Short line eyes Cali market, buys hydrogen locomotive builder