North Carolina Department of Transportation is installing retired railroad flatcars as temporary bridges to replace bridges that were damaged by Hurricane Helene last September.
The bridges are being supplied and installed by Innovative Bridge Company, based in Petal, a small city of around 11,000 in the state of Mississippi. IBC has so far installed more than 40 railcar bridges in seven counties, according to local media reports.
IBC said that it typically installs up to 200 such bridges annually, from Texas to Pennsylvania. However, the order This was its first disaster response job.
The railcar bridges, paved and with railings installed, are third of the cost of a typical temporary bridge. The NCDOT said it expects to have all the temporary bridges in place by the end of March and all damaged bridges rebuilt within two years.
The Innovative Bridge Company sells or rents flat railcar decks up to 90-feet-lonig (27.5m), specialising in short county-level bridges and bridges for private customers.
A short video of the work in North Carolina is available by clicking here.
