Merchants Bridge Main Span Truss Replacement and East Approach Retrofit

After 127 years of service, the Merchants Bridge, a historic Mississippi River crossing, underwent a replacement of the main span trusses and east approach to extend the life of the bridge, improve operational capacity, and revitalize this critical link in the transcontinental railroad system. TranSystems led the design of the main span trusses and east approach, and led environmental services, including assisting with the NEPA process, permitting, and compliance. The new structure replaced the existing three through-truss main spans up to 520 feet in length. The east approach includes six deck plate girder spans constructed in 2006 and 31 multi-beam spans constructed in the 1890s.