These are notes that I am writing to help me learn our industrial history. They are my best understanding, but that does not mean they are a correct understanding.
The bride was built as part of the project to build the dam. The tall piers that we see during its construction help put the depth of the lake into perspective.
Charles Jenigen posted (I lost the link.)
Southern Pacific Bridge being built in the late 1960’s across lake Amistad in Del Rio Tx.
Amistad Dam is the largest of the storage dams and reservoirs built on the international reach of the Rio Grande River. The dam was dedicated in 1969 by United States President Richard M. Nixon and Mexico President Diaz Ordaz.
The primary purpose for which Amistad Dam was constructed is flood control and water conservation storage for the benefit of the United States and Mexico. The dam is 6.1 miles (10 km) long, stands 254 feet (77.4 meters) above the riverbed and consists of a concrete gravity spillway section within the river canyon flanked by earth embankments. The dam has sixteen (16) spillway gates capable of releasing 1,500,000 cubic feet (42,670 cubic meters) per second. The dam is operated and maintained jointly by the United States and Mexico Sections of the IBWC. The reservoir impounded by the dam extends up the Rio Grande River approximately 75 miles has a surface area of 65,000 acres (26,300 hectares) and a volume of 3,124,260 acre feet (3,886,578,000 cubic meters) at conservation elevation of 1117.00 feet (340.460 meters) above mean sea level. See the official Amistad Dam & Power Plant Brochure. View the Joint Report of the Technical Advisors of the IBWC regarding the Geotechnical, Electrical, Mechanical and Structural Safety of Amistad Dam
[1,500 kcfs is about an order of magnitude more than what I've seen for the spillway capacity of most major dams.]
Hurricane spawned rains in 1954 from 12 to 22 inches created a 90' flash flood on the Pecos River. That flood moved this dam from the talking stage to the planning and building stage. [DelRioNewsHerald]
"Besides having to relocate the Southern Pacific line and the U.S. Highway 90 bridge, the IBWC had to tackle the issue of land fraught with porous limestone that could create seepage." They had to do a lot of grouting to create an impervious wall under the dam in the limestone bedrock. [DelRioNewsHerald]
I normally wouldn't have noticed the issue of a porous limestone foundation. But then I learned that in 2008 the USACE and others said after a 5-year inspection that the sinkholes were worrisome enough that funding was needed to study the problem. Some of those naturally occurring sinkholes existed before the dam was constructed. In 2017, after another 5-year inspection, the dam remains "potentially or conditionally unsafe" but hasn't reached the highest level of "urgent and compelling." [ibwc-orange-alert, LMTonline] So it seems the problem is not with the grout wall, but with a pre-existing condition.
Below is the proposal for a 2010 study as a result of the 2008 inspection. Did they ever fund the study? If so, what was the results of the study?
The agency initiated the implementation of several elements recommended in the consensus report, one of which includes the Risk Analysis Study. Dependent on the results from the Risk Analysis Study and availability of funds, the agency anticipates the initiation of the following work in FY 2010: 1) Foundation and embankment studies, to include stability studies, 2) Installation of additional embankment and foundation piezometers, 3) Further investigation of the "sinkhole area", 4) Further investigation of a previously reported "depression" area located on the upstream embankment, in Mexico, having proximity to the "sinkhole area", 5) A geotechnical "Willow stick Survey" and a Remote Operated Vehicle/Hydrophone survey. [ibwc-orange-alert]
The dam would not be built today [2016] because the lake drowned a lot of archaeological cave paintings and prehistoric tools and because of the geopolitical climate. [DelRioNewsHearald]
Charles commented on his post hyrailing about two years ago
Charles commented on his post
Screenshot Did they dig a huge channel to handle the 1,500 kcfs spillway capacity? Looking at one of the above construction photos, there may have been a natural river gorge that was simply widened near the dam.
Matthew Ward Flickr via Historic Bridges, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
1 of several photos posted by Andrew Piechota Crook Point Bridge and East Side Railroad Tunnel Providence, RI. Way too much standing water to get a look inside the tunnel. Definitely more imposing and creepy in person. [The comments include several photos of the bridge and tunnel, including the interior of the tunnel.]
This is in Providence Rhode Island and has been stuck open since 1976. This crosses the Seekonk river
Crook Point Bridge used by New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad. I have a stickup bridge on my train table for this bridge.
Dan Dancause: Wikipedia is wrong, last train on the bridge was c. 1980 or 81, then it was abandoned.
David Smith: Raised section had a fire a while back. Tunnel entrance on the Providence side sealed up. Doubtful this bridge will ever see a train again.
Henry Coleman commented on Kevin's post This article was from March 22, 1980. Not sure how much longer the bridge was in service.
John Kaiser posted five photos that were shared by Tim Shanahan with the comment:
In Rhode Island. The Crook Point Bascule Bridge (opened in 1908 until 1976) is a steel railway drawbridge that once connected Providence’s Fox Point neighborhood to the City of East Providence across the Seekonk River. The bridge—which is also referred to as the Seekonk River Drawbridge or Crook Point Bridge—is currently unused and fixed in the upright position.
I remember as a young child (early 1980's) seeing this bridge down. Then they raised it permanently. There is currently a battle between both cities and a group of preservationists who are fighting not to demo the bridge. People want to keep it as a historical land mark.
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Michael Levy posted Crook Point Bridge, Providence, Rhode Island.
Will Morgan via Bridge Hunter via GoLocalProv, License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA)
John Jauchler posted seven photos with the comment:
The Seekonk River Bridge in Providence, Rhode Island has been covered more than once on this group. However, not sure if anyone here has gotten their drone up to have a look. If so, here are even more shots! This interesting bridge was built in 1908 as part of the New Haven's East Side Tunnel project, giving direct access to Providence's Union Station to trains serving Bristol and Fall River. Both the tunnel and bridge were abandoned in 1976. The bridge has an uncertain future; there are some efforts underway to save it, but the RI DOT has described it as an "attractive nuisance" and wants to tear it down by 2026. I can attest to the attractive nuisance part; during my visit a group of college-age people walked out onto the span with plans to jump into the water below. You can also see graffiti on the uppermost part of the raised span, which would be quite a dangerous climb to get up there. The tunnel is a very short distance away, but the portals on both ends are sealed. I didn't think to get photos, so that'll have to wait 'til next time.
This railroad drawbridge in Providence, RI was abandoned in 1976 and left open to allow boats to navigate the river. Known by locals as the "stuck-up" bridge, it has become something of a symbol of the city's industrial heritage.
The Crook Point Bascule Bridge (or the Seekonk River Drawbridge) is a defunct Scherzer rolling lift railway bridge which spans the Seekonk River, connecting the city of Providence, to the city of East Providence.
Plans call for the bridge to be converted into a pedestrian bridge and a park to be built on land between the bridge and the East Side Railroad Tunnel.
The bridge, which was once slated for demolition, was recently named on the Providence Preservation Society's list of most endangered properties.
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safe_image for Providence releases design proposals for 'stuck-up' bridge [The above headline is not a hot link because this page shows the five design proposals.]
Demi Pita added …today [May 9, 2026] sunrise at Crook Point Bascule Bridge. East Providence Rhode Island…
A contest was held to determine what to do with it. The winning design was to replace the ties with lightbars and turn the span into a lightshow and the area into a riverside park. The bridge can't be used as a trail because that would require operating the movable span.
Steven J. Brown posted Spokane Portland & Seattle 4-8-4 700 crossing Drano Lake along the Columbia River on her first post-restoration public excursion at Underwood, Washington - June 27, 1990.
Construction crews are driving pilings for two main piers that will support the new BNSF rail bridge over Drano Lake in Washington. The new structure will replace a century-old BNSF bridge over Drano Lake that serves a BNSF route that operates east from Vancouver along the northern side of the Columbia River. The new bridge will span 440 feet and include a 360-foot central steel through-truss span. It is part of BNSF's larger effort to upgrade its Washington statewide rail network, company officials said in the newsletter. Once construction of the bridge's two main piers are completed, the finished truss will be loaded onto a barge and floated up the Columbia River to its final location. [ProgressiveRail]
BNSF.com (source) [This link has several more photos of the project.]
Johnathan Tuom posted a video with the comment: "Looks like the railroad bridge is on its way up the gorge. Left Vancouver, Washington this morning. This clip was over 17 minutes in length so I cut the audio and sped up the footage."
The 40-wheeled movers were used to "drive" the truss onto the barge. The swap should happen in mid-Sept in less than 36 hours to minimize the impact on the train traffic. The BNSF line carries an average of 40 trains per day through the Columbia River Gorge, including Amtrak’s Empire Builder trains. [columbian]
safe_image for BNSF bridge replacement bound for Drano Lake[N free articles/month] The sun sets as crews move the BNSF railroad truss bridge to a barge on Monday evening. The bridge will be floated about 60 miles up the Columbia River to Drano Lake, where it will be installed to replace a century-old bridge on the rail line. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)
"a 360-foot-long, 2.7-million-pound steel truss"
Devane Crewse posted twelve photos with the comment: "Bnsf railbridge swap."
[I assume it is this bridge. I doubt that BNSF is currently swapping more than one bridge. However, these photos may be a year old because Advanced American Construction's web site talks about just the replacement over Wood River. But I didn't see the big ringer on that project that is in the twelfth photo of this collection.]
Here is a time-lapse video of tugboats taking the bridge under tow in Vancouver, Washington for its trip up the Colunbia River. If you click on the written link below you can see the comments including a video of the bridge underway.
Bernadette Price provided a video in a comment on her post. I thought the tugboat in front was rather small for this load. Then at the end you can see a much bigger towboat pushing the load. So the tugboat is mainly for steering because the "muscle" is provided by the towboat.
BNSF Railway posted four photos with the comment: "The new bridge on Drano Lake in Washington has finally settled into its new home 18 days after it departed Vancouver by barge, a unique experience as bridges are usually built on-site. Crews worked around the clock for eight hours to remove the old structure, a 113-year-old truss that dated back to the original construction of the rail line through the Columbia River Gorge, and maneuver the new one in place."
Fred Bedard shared with the comment: "New bridge installed in 8 hrs. Incredible." [The figure I saw was that the railroad was shut down for 36 hours.]
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