CN will begin the second and final year of a major maintenance and strengthening project on the Oliver railroad bridge over the St. Louis River between Duluth, Minnesota and Oliver, Wisconsin on Monday, April 24.
The bridge strengthening project, part of CN’s 2017 capital program, is a major investment in the continuing safety and efficiency of CN’s Wisconsin and Minnesota railroad network.
The bridge work included in 2017 is as follows:
- Full replacement of the 47-foot-long Span 1 on the east end of the bridge
- Removal of the steel cross ties and steel deck which carries the rail
- Installation of new solid timber deck to carry the rail
The bridge work will prompt daytime closures of the roadway beneath the rail bridge connecting Wisconsin Highway 105 to Minnesota Highway 39. The highway portion of the bridge will be closed to traffic between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The daily closures are expected to begin April 24 and continue into the fall. CN has worked with the Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of transportation on the closure signage.
Due to holidays and certain local events, the road will remain open on the following days:
- Friday, May 26, 2017 – Road open at 12:00 (noon) for Memorial Day traffic
- Monday, May 29, 2017 – Road open all day for Memorial Day
- Friday, June 16, 2017 – Road open at 12:00 (noon) for Grandma’s Marathon traffic
- Monday, July 3, 2017 – Road open all day for 4th of July weekend
- Tuesday, July 4, 2017 – Road open all day for 4th of July weekend
- Thursday, August 10, 2017 – Road open at 12:00 (noon) for Blue’s Fest traffic
- Friday, August 11, 2017 – Road open all day for Blue’s Fest
- Friday, September 1, 2017 – Road open at 12:00 (noon) for Labor Day traffic
- Monday, September 4, 2017 – Road open for Labor Day
- Friday, September 15, 2017 – Road open at 12:00 (noon) for In-Line Marathon traffic
Information on the status of road closures will be available from the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Wisconsin Department of Transportation
web sites during the Oliver Bridge project:
- http://www.dot.state.mn.us/d1/projects/Oliver-Bridge-Rehabilitation/
- http://projects.511wi.gov/region/northwest/
About the bridge:
- Double deck 1,935 foot-long steel, multi-span bridge
- Railroad upper deck with two-lane highway below
- 31 plate girder spans and one through truss span with single track between Duluth and Oliver
- Carries approximately 20 trains a day
- Built in 1910 connecting Spirit Lake Transfer Railway in Minnesota with the Interstate Transfer Railway in Wisconsin
Across its network, CN plans to spend C$2.5 billion on rail infrastructure and equipment to raise network efficiency, support growth and further strengthen safety. Approximately C$1.6 billion will be spent on railroad infrastructure, such as the Oliver Bridge.
CN is a true backbone of the economy whose team of approximately 23,000 railroaders transports more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and midAmerica. For more information about CN, visit the Company’s website at www.cn.ca
