1934+1996 US-1 and Brightline/Florida East Coast Bridges over St. Lucie River in Stuart, FL

1934 US-1: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite) Dixie Highway

1996 US-1: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite) Roosevelt Bridge

FEC: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

A view of the railroad and Dixie Highway Bridges from the Roosevelt Bridge. 

Street View, Jul 2017

I noticed in a satellite image that the bridge was built over a lot of water. I hope that the water is shallow here and that the bedrock is close to the surface to reduce the cost of all of those piers. 

There is limestone bedrock near the surface in a lot of places in Florida.

It is 4,487' (1.4km) long with a span length of 260' (79m). [BridgeHunter_1996]

Scott Johnson (sajflorida) Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)

This shows that there are a couple of curves in the bridge.

Street View, May 2024

The 1996 Roosevelt Bridge is a concrete segmental box girder bridge. IT STARTED FALLING APART IN LESS THAN 25 YEARS! [ArchivedBridgeHunter_1996]

In June 2020, both the northbound and southbound bridges were shut down because cracks were found in the southernmost span of the southbound bridge. They also closed the 1934 Dixie Highway bridge because it passes under the cracked span. In fact, there was not just cracks, there was falling concrete! The U.S. Coast Guard overracted and declared the bridge is "at risk of an imminent collapse." The Coast Guard stopped all commercial traffic under the other end of the bridge.  [RoadsBridges]

It is interesting that the story as to how the crack was found and reported changed. Originally, it was by a construction crew on another road project. But later FDOT claimed that it was found by a routine biannual inspection.

wptv
Within hours of the Coast Guard alert, the mayor of Stuart, FL, said "FDOT engineers have not found any evidence that the bridge is at immediate risk of collapsing." "Upon inspection, engineers with FDOT found that rust in the steel cables had been exposed when the concrete fell. Further inspection revealed an area of concern on the northbound side of the bridge as well." Tolls were waved on the Florida Turnpike between Port St. Lucie and Stuart to help detour traffic around the closed bridges.

The railroad bridge is obviously a trunnion bridge because we can see the trunnion. I think the old road bridge is also a trunnion bridge.

Street View, May 2024

The railroad drawbridge was upgraded in 2023 to support better reliability and faster speeds for passenger trains.

5:20 video @ 0:37

Note that traffic is stopped. The road bridge started going up in this segment of the video.

@ 4:04

This is the post that led me down the rabbit hole of St. Lucie River Bridges. This train is one of those faster passenger trains that caused the upgrade of the railroad bridge.

Steven J. Brown posted
Brightline Siemens SCB-40 121 (built 2023) crossing the St Lucie River at Stuart, Florida - February 19, 2026. The train wears a wrap celebrating the 250-year anniversary of the USA.

1879-1960 British Railroad Bridge over Severn River between Sharpness and Lydney, UK

Bridge Remnants: (Satellite, the swingspan pier on the left of the canal and the bridge abutment on the right.)

Tunnel: (Satellite)

The History of Wales posted

17th October 1879 saw the official opening of the Severn Railway Bridge (destroyed in 1960).

The Severn Railway Bridge crossed the River Severn between Sharpness and Lydney and was built by the Severn Bridge Railway company to transport coal from the Forest of Dean on the Severn and Wye Railway.

The bridge predated the construction of the Severn Tunnel, which is situated around 12 miles downstream, by seven years, after which it was used as a diversionary route when the tunnel was closed for engineering work and became known by locals as 'The White Elephant'.

On 25th October 1960, there was thick fog and a strong tide; two barges carrying fuel oil and petroleum overshot Sharpness Dock and were carried upstream by hazardous tidal currents. They collided with one of the columns of the bridge, causing two spans of the 22-span steel and cast iron bridge to collapse. Part of the structure hit the barges, setting fire to them. Five people died in the incident.

The Western Region of British Railways planned to reconstruct the bridge, but after further damage to the bridge in 1961, it considered the bridge to be damaged beyond economic repair and demolition was completed in 1970.

Ron Nicholls commented on the above post
Hard to imagine it now.

Grahame Conlon commented on the above post

Simon Hartley commented on the above post
Here is a bit of the OS 1-Inch map, dated 1966. I am amused and impressed that they left out the bit of bridge which had fallen.

John Berge commented on the above post
I walked along the canal towpath this summer and took this photo. An impressive structure.

Lou Coony commented on the above post
What remains today South bank.

JJ Williams commented on the above post
This is the Severn Bridge tunnel leading to the bridge on the Lydney side. Walked through it back in March. Seems to be used as a farm track now.

 Shaun Vizor commented on the above post
Walked some of the remaining track last weekend. Tunnel near Purton in surprisingly good condition

Hurricane Gulch Arch Bridges in Denali Park, AK

1921 Railroad: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

1971 Road: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite, 615 photos)

Railroad

Dave Blaze Rail Photography posted
Budd Cans On The Bridge You can't ride these here anymore and you certainly can't do this....glad I caught the tail end of an era here. Good memories that from what feels like a lifetime ago. A pair of classic RDCs (#s 701 & 712) on the Hurricane Turn pause on the train's namesake bridge to allow passengers to get off and walk around. As you can see a decade and a half a ago things were much more casual on the Alaska Railroad than they are now. 701 is an RDC-3 built for the New Haven Railroad in 1953 as their number 126. 712 is an RDC-3 built for the New York Central in 1953 as their number M380. This would be the last season for the classic "Budd Cans" as the railroad's crews called them as time and the increasing popularity of this train finally caught up to them. Hurricane, Alaska Sunday September 7, 2008 Ken Heitzenrater shared

 

Dave Blaze Rail Photography posted

Geeps On High

This was arguably my best catch ever from my secret camp spot and overlook high along the north ridge of Hurricane Gulch. 

While not a revenue freight train, the company work train always put on a good show usually rating classic original, built new, home road GP40-2s for power and trailing any combination of a string of ballast hoppers, side dumps, gons, flats, the depressed center car with a piece of heavy equipment or more...and always punctuated by one of the Alaska Railroad's three remaining cabooses. 

On this spectacular fall day it dawned clear and colorful as Frank and John and I awoke in Talkeetna and after a (nearly too!) leisurely breakfast we made the hour drive up the Parks Hwy to the trailhead and hiked in the mile.  When we heard them blowing for the crossing while still trekking in it became a mad dash through the woods, and Frank damn near barrell rolled in through the brush just as engineer Gordon Larson inched slowly out over the Gulch in charge of train 591W with four matching geeps (3010, 3005, 3002, 3004) punctuated on the end by ARR 1092, an ex CN wide vision van! 

Located at MP 284.2, this bridge spans 918 ft and rises 296 ft above the floor below. This famous arch is arguable the signature location the on the entire ARR mainline and was the most expensive and difficult engineering project on the entirety of the railroad. The American Bridge Company started construction in early 1921, erected steel in June and finished in August. To construct the bridge, they strung an aerial tram across the gulch and construction proceeded from both sides. The first passenger train crossed Hurricane Gulch Bridge on August 15, 1921 culminating the $1,200,000 project. 

Hurricane, Alaska

Friday September 15, 2017

Viral Media posted

The company work tran crosses the iconic Hurricane Bridge with a matched quartet of GP40-2s. The train matches the surrounding landscape pretty well.

Dave Blaze Rail Photography posted

Eight Years Ago Today [Sep 15]

Fall was in full swing in the Last Frontier and this was one of my best days of photography in the decade I lived there.

[The rest of the description is the same as above.]

Google eBook, p638

Google eBook, p639

Photo via AlaskaRails via BridgeHunter

AlaskaRails, Photo courtesy of Anchorage Museum of History and Art, BL79.2.301
Freight train crossing Hurricane Gulch, date unknown. 
Hurricane Gulch Bridge was completed in 1921.

GraylineAlaska

Southland Holdings posted three photos with the comment:

From the AB archives: 104 years ago, American Bridge Company began constructing the Hurricane Gulch Bridge in Alaska. The project involved a 918’ [180m] long deck arch railroad bridge with a 384' [117m] arch span over the gorge. The arch was erected by the cantilever method, using derrick cars so that construction could proceed from both sides simultaneously. The bridge also included two 120' deck truss spans, one 50' plate girder span, and a 240' viaduct. The bridge has an elevation of 297' [90m] above Hurricane Creek and is the longest and tallest bridge on the Alaska Railroad. 

1

2

3

alaska
Title taken from front. View of Alaska Engineering Commission Railway construction on railroad bridge over Hurricane Gulch, Alaska, with crane in center of photo and construction workers on bridge. Also from front: "A.E.C. G1889." An Alaska Engineering Commission photo. Photographer's number G1889. Aug. 8, 1921. Photographer: H.G.K. Original photograph size: 6 1/4" x 8 1/4".

Brad Nicholson, Jun 2022

Road

The link for the road bridge was broke so I have just the info that is in the index.

Bridge Hunter Index

Brandon Taylor, Sep 2023

Rockford Weber, Jun 2019

OnlyInYourState, Dr. Cherepanov / Google Maps, this website has a lot more photos and a drone video
"It is 558 feet [170m] long and soars over the gulch at an impressive 254 feet [77.4m] high....The railroad bridge with the same name, the Hurricane Gulch Bridge, is the tallest bridge in Alaska. For the span of a couple of years, it was actually the tallest bridge in America....That bridge also crosses over Hurricane Creek and sits 296 feet [90m] high."

Seth Jones, Jun 2021

Sep 2025 Update

Hurricane Gulch empties into the Susitna River.

G Hine, Jul 2023

I need to remember to read the descriptions all the way to the end. "Hurricane Gulch" is not only in Google Maps, it is in my notes. Instead of cutting to the chase, I followed the railroad on topo maps and Google Maps north of Talkeetna until I found it.

1950/54 Talkeetna, 1951/51 Healy and 1954/56 Talkeetna Mountains Quads @ 250,000

I noticed there is not a road on the topo maps. Indeed, the Parks Highway Bridge was not built until 1971. 

So that today's research is not a total waste of time: things I learned along the way.

The railroad goes through Chulitpa Pass between snowy mountains.

There is an "Alaska Railroad exhibit."

J Prall, Aug 2025

Paul K, Aug 2024 [Google Maps won't give me a correct URL.]

BPRR/P&S Viaduct over BPRR/B&O/BR&P and Aban/Pennsy near Brockway, PA

(Satellite)

BPRR = Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad

P&S = Pittsburgh & Shawmut

BR&P = Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh

Street View, Aug 2018

Rob Keith posted
Construction of the Dellwood Viaduct of the Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern RR in 1907. The double track in the foreground was the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh RR. This view looks northbound toward the Broad St crossing - you can see the old "diamond" crossing sign in the distance.
Ken Heitzenrater shared
Don't know if I shared this before. The setting of the first piece of the Pittsburg Shawful viaduct.  At least the first successful as the first try toppled the crane over the concrete abutment blocking the BR&P tracks below. This is somewhere between 1900 and 1910....

Rob Keith commented on his post

Street View, Aug 2018

1944/1944 Du Bois Quad @ 62,500

The former Pennsy RoW:

Satellite plus Paint

Sicily Ferries

Sicily Terminal: (Satellite)

Italy Terminal: (Satellite)

I see there are several ferries between Italy and Sicily. I'm focusing on the railroad ferry.

This is the last train ferry in Europe. A crossing takes about an hour. [medium]

(The train ferry between Hamburg and Copenhagen quit running Dec 2019 when the train was moved to a new, longer route that uses a fixed crossing. A tunnel is being built to restore the shorter route. [rail-away])

The Man in Seat 61 - seat61.com posted
Yes, the train to Sicily goes onto the ferry!

John Maguire commented on the above post
Highlight of the trip for me (northbound).

Marc Evans commented on the above post

Given the counterweight structure in the background of the screenshot, I believe it is docked where the ferry with the heleport is docked in this image of the Sicily terminal.

Satellite

Sicily terminal:

Flavia Ilacqua, May 2019

rail-away

 

railscot
Another travelogue

RFI via railtech
Railtech claims the crossing is just 30 minutes.
It is hybrid-powered and will have zero emissions in the port.
"The new ship is 147 metres long and 19 metres wide and has a maximum capacity of 27 rail wagons on 4 tracks. It can accommodate 700 people, including the crew. Iginia will join RFI’s fleet of ships between Messina and Villa San Giovanni, together with its sister ship Messina, Villa and Scilla, and the five ships of the Bluferries subsidiary."

I just skimmed this video.

23:16 video @ 8:00