Sunday, June 5, 2016

UP+Amtrak/Alton Bridge over Kankakee River in Wilmington, IL

20160603 3366

(Bridge Hunter, Satellite, Birds-Eye View)
Note the three ducks in the shade. I almost tripped over them as I was walking around trying to find a shot that included the mill tailrace outlet. I didn't notice them until they squawked and moved. But they did not bother to move very far. They were still there when I left. I need to revisit this bridge with a morning sun.

Excerpt from above

Excerpt +30 brightness

Update:

Dan Tracy posted
KLBG4 rolls across the Kankakee River in Wilmington today. [July 3, 2016]

Dan Tracy posted
UP crew working on the Kankakee River bridge in Wilmington on 8-16-16.

Steven J. Brown posted
Amtrak Texas Eagle #22 crossing the Kankakee River at Wilmington, Illinois - January 15, 2008.

Andy Puch posted
UP 1943 and 1024 lead LSF54A north across the vintage Kankakee River bridge at Wilmington this morning. They would exchange tanks at Dow and hoppers at Prairie Creek before running around their train and returning to Bloomington.
[The hopper must be bulk fertilizer because there are no tracks close to the grain bins.]

Dan Tracy posted three photos with the comment: "Here are three shots I took on 7-17-17 from Island Park in Wilmington of the Kankakee River bridge construction."
Dan Tracy New half of double track bridge to be built and put in service then old bridge comes out and 2nd half of new bridge put in its place. According to plans they're to be 20 foot track centers with a MOW road down the middle. But plans like schedules are subject to change without notice.

2
I believe that box in front of the crane is a concrete form for the base of a pier. The bottom of the river at this point is only 2 to 5 feet below normal water level and is solid Limestone on the bottom. So they won't have to go down very far for a footing.

Dan tracy posted 3 photos with the comment:

Stopped by Wilmington to check out progress on the Kankakee River bridge construction but first up was Amtrak 307 with Todd Pearson at the throttle rolling through and the next two shots are from the east side and west side of the bridge.

Todd Pearson 305

😜
Dan Tracy My bad.

Dan Tracy posted six photos with the comment:

Spent the afternoon catching up on some local action. Here is KG4LB rolling across the Kankakee River in Wilmington. Shot 2 is Amtrak 22 with engine 59. Shot three is Amtrak 21 with engine 63. Shot 4 is looking across Water St. in Wilmington. Shot 5 is looking north across Forked Creek in Wilmington and shot 6 is looking south from Kankakee Street in Wilmington.

zoomed in on 2

Dan Tracy posted five photos with the comment:

Spent a couple of hours or so at Wilmington today [Sept. 1, 2017]. Conractors were pouring the footing for pier 5 (From the north side of the Kankakee river) and bagging off the area for pier 3. Pier 4 was poured on Thursday. Amtrak ran 302 and 22 before the southbound local came through. Happy Labor Day weekend everyone.

Bill Molony posted
Union Pacific's contractors are putting in place this week the girders for the new UP bridge over the Kankakee River in Wilmington.
Once this bridge is completed and put into service, the original bridge will be removed and replaced with a second new bridge, giving UP a double track line through the City of Wilmington.
These new bridges are part of the Chicago-St. Louis Higher Speed Rail project.
Adrian Walls About time get it done!
Bill Molony Correct; this job is about a year behind schedule.
Larry D Thorson The UP didn't run many trains through there...until taxpayers rebuilt the line for them.

John Bilecki posted
New Bridge over the Kankakee River in Wilmington on the UP Joliet Sub (ex C&A, GM&O, IC, CM&W, And SP.)

Second photo posted by Michael Riha

Northbound Texas Eagle passing new bridge over Kankakee River in Wilmngton

[Note that one of the excavators is "wading" in the river!]

Nikki Burgess commented of Michael's photo
[A before picture]

Robby Gragg Flickr, Jan 2, 2018

Frozen

Amtrak 518 leads Lincoln Service 302 across a frozen Kankakee River in Wilmington, IL. The train is using the old bridge but the new one is in place in front of it. The cab signals have temporarily been suspended on the former Alton, allowing power like this to lead Lincoln Service for the first time in several years.

Dan Tracy posted
Working on another project I came across this slide with a process date of 3-82. Two employees keep a careful eye on the ice dam on the Kankakee River at Wilmington. Fortunately it didn't move the bridge.

Dennis DeBruler posted three photos with the comment:

I visited Wilmington on 2-22-2018 to see what the flood looked like. It peaked the previous day at 9.1'. It was still above 8' when I got there. The first photo was taken at a gate that was across the road. The parking lot near the end was still submerged. The second photo was taken at the foot of the tailrace remnant. A local said he would fish there, and it is normally about 10' wide. The third photo is a digital zoom of the first.
The flood stages are action: 5.0, minor: 6.5, moderate: 8.0, major 10.0, and the record was 13.9. State Road 102 was closed at S. Rivals Road.

Dan Tracy posted
The old bridge is on the left, the new one is on the right.

Dan Tracy posted
Looking north over temporary bridge being constructed so cranes can remove the old bridge structure and after poring the caps on the new piers, place the new bridge in place and connect to the other half in place.
[Dan also posted photos of them moving the old track in town to make room for the second track.]

Dan Tracy posted four photos with the comment:

KKK River construction photos continued. This looks weird to me but then I'm not a Civil Engineer. 2) Demolition of old piers is underway. One can see where ice and water were taking their toll. 3) Another shot looking across the river with the temporary bridge in place. 4) seems they're cutting the bridge up into pieces. Note the size of the pedestals.

Dan Tracy posted
Amtrak 59 on train 22 (The Eagle) on the soon to be replaced Kankakee River bridge at Wilmington IL on 8-19-17.

Dan Tracy posted
UP southbound stacker rolls over the Kankakee River bridge at Wilmington on 9-23-18.
Dan Tracy They eventually want to re-double track the line all the way to St. Louis. It seems that they are doing the most expensive parts first.

Bill Burmaster shared
Kankakee River at the Alton.
[Winter 2019 The four days of melting that we had last week has removed the ice jam that formed during a polar vortex. The press was talking of the river flooding in Willmington and upstream because of ice jams. In fact, they were pumping water from Dresden's cooling pond, which is warmer, onto the river to try to create a channel through the ice jam.]

David Daruszka shared rtands
Innovation in stream—Teams work together to tackle tough conditions surrounding Kankakee River rail bridge project
[They used three modular cofferdams to build the seven new piers before they had to remove the temporary bridge for the winter season. IDNR required the removal of the temporary bridge, which had fifteen pipe pile bents, to reduce the threat of ice jams. The three cofferdams allowed them to build the footing, which was embedded 2' into the bedrock bottom of the river, in one while the forms were being built in the second and the concrete was curing in the third. I wish they had a photo of a cofferdam being assembled because they were bags of sand! It is hard for me to visualize their description.]