CSX/L&N Bridge and US-60 over Green River near Spottsville, KY

1888+1926 L&N: (Bridge Hunter;  B&T; Satellite)

1931+2022 US-60: (Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; B&T; Satellite)

Why am I writing notes about yet another swing bridge? Because of Jim's information about this route. And then I learned that the US-60 truss bridge in the background is being replaced. And he caught the Green River running at the top of its banks.

Jim Pearson Photography posted

CSX 483 leads CSX Q228 westbound across the CSX Swing Bridge over the Green River at Spottsville, Kentucky on the CSX Texas Line (LH&StL Subdivision) as it makes its way to the Toyota Plant at Princeton, Indiana from Louisville, KY on March 7th, 2022.

This bridge was shut down for well over a year due to mechanical problems which has now been repaired. It reopened about two weeks ago and CSXT has picked up the contract from Toyota at Princeton, Indiana over Norfolk Southern who had it before.

CSX currently runs two through trains daily along the line and it has been open now for about two weeks. It also sees several locals as well. While the bridge was shut down trains were pretty much just locals between Louisville and Henderson, Ky (where the Texas line runs).

According to Wikipedia: The LH&STL Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was originally built as the Louisville, Henderson, and Texas Railway in 1882, with the intent of building a line to Texas by way of St. Louis, Missouri. It was nicknamed "The Texas Line," by which it is still often referred today. The line fell into bankruptcy and was reorganized as the Louisville, Henderson, and St. Louis Railway in 1896. The rail line was acquired by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1929; the parent company still exists and holds other rail-related assets. Through a series of mergers, the line is now operated by CSX.

The line runs from Louisville, Kentucky, to Henderson, Kentucky, for a total of 136.5 miles (219.7 km). At its east end the line continues west from the Louisville Terminal Subdivision, and at its west end the line continues west as the Henderson Subdivision of the Nashville Division.

According to Bridge Hunter: The CSX Spottsville Swing Bridge is a through truss swing bridge over the Green River, which was formerly owned by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. It was originally built in 1888 by the Keystone Bridge Co of Pittsburg, PA and then reconstructed in 1926.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 150

https://fineartamerica.com/.../csx-q228-westbound-over...
Shaun Patrick Watt: One correction. We are serviced by both CSX and NS here in Princeton.

John Hardin commented on Jim's post
SPOTTSVILLE RR SWING BRIDGE BEING BUILT

Street View

While getting the above street view of the railroad bridge, I noticed that Kentucky has not yet got rid of all of its old truss bridges.

Street View

Some big boats must still use the river because Ed Hollowell caught it with the swing span closing.

Photo by Ed Hollowell in July 2005 via BridgeHunter-L&N, cropped, License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA)

Or did Ed catch CSX doing a test because I don't see a boat on the river?

Photo by Ed Hollowell in July 2005 via BridgeHunter-L&N, cropped, License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA)

1 of 3 photos posted by Bridges & Tunnels

Spottsville Railroad Bridge is a through truss swing bridge that carries CSX over the Green River in Spottsville, Kentucky.

The original iteration was completed for the Louisville, St. Louis & Texas Railroad by the Keystone Bridge Company in 1888, but a contract dispute led to a takeover of the structure by the bridge builders. Rails were ripped from the tracks, and the swing span opened. An imbalance led to its collapse.

Keystone Bridge Company was forced to rebuild the destroyed swing span, which opened for the railroad in March 1889. The Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis Railway rebuilt the crossing in 1925-26 which remains in use today.

➤ Check out more of the Spottsville Railroad Bridge at http://bridgestunnels.com/.../spottsville-railroad-bridge/

B&T has more details about the bridge collapse. Because railroad and bridge workers were on the span when it collapsed, a railroad worker was killed.

But Kentucky is working on getting rid of the old truss bridge. The good news is that the $32m replacement is not a UCEB, it is another truss bridge. 

TheGleaner, an artist's rendering
"The new bridge will have 12-foot driving lanes and 8-foot shoulders versus 10-foot driving lanes and a narrow shoulder. The additional space will allow for some wiggle room; especially in regards to incident management." The bridge handles about 3,000 vehicles a day.
[L&D #1 is in the background.]

"Built in 1931, the existing US 60 Bridge over the Cumberland River needed to be replaced. At first glance, replacing the bridge seemed straightforward—the new bridge needed to be functional, safe, and economical. However, multiple stakeholders, navigation constraints, archaeological impacts, and a history of riverbank stability problems led to a complex interrelated design process....The modified warren truss features a modern design approach that improves efficiency and aesthetics while reducing life-cycle costs by eliminating verticals and sway bracing." [stantec]

Aug 2021 Photo by Patrick Gurwell via BridgeHunter-US-60

It looks like they are doing a cantilevered stick build of the truss from both sides using a falsework pier on each side. This is the first stick-build over water that I remember seeing in the 21st Century. Why aren't they floating a truss span into place since we have seen that the swing bridge is operational? I know Paducah has a yard that can make trusses because it has done so for other bridge projects.

Sep 15, 2021 Photo by Grant Didomizio via BridgeHunter-US-60, cropped

Zooming in on Jim's photo at the top of these notes, we can see the new truss that is being built and the spacing of the falsework under it.

Digitally Zoomed in Jim's photo

There was an accident during construction of the main 360' truss for the old US-60 bridge.

July 11, 1931, Chicago Tribune Photo via BridgeHunter-US-60

1:14 Aug 2022 video @ 0:48

1:14 Aug 2022 video @ 0:48

And he caught the railroad in the open position.

1:14 Aug 2022 video @ 1:10

1:28 video @ 1:02
The main span is 560' [0:49]

Update:

1 of 9 photos posted by Bridges & Tunnels

A privately operated ferry had operated over the Green River at Spottsville since the 1800s, but following the rise of automobile usage and the designation of US Route 60 across the state in November 1926, the ferry became increasingly overburdened. The new Spottsville Bridge was completed in December 1931.

In September 2013, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) selected a consultant to study possible options for replacing the Spottsville Bridge which was not only functionally obsolete because of its narrow deck width but because of structural issues. KYTC District 1 began preparation work for constructing the new Spottsville Bridge in February 2020 which was dedicated on August 17, 2022.

➤ Check out our Journal post about the Spottsville Bridge:http://bridgestunnels.com/.../flyover-of-the-new-and-old.../ 

➤ Spottsville Bridge location entry:http://bridgestunnels.com/location/spottsville-bridge/

[Both links take you to a 3:38 drone flyover video.]

Carlton Crasher: It’s now [Dec 8, 2022] all gone. Demolitions several weeks ago.