Last year’s Hurricane Helene caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage along the East Coast, including a mudslide that incapacitated part of Interstate 40 in North Carolina.
The resulting damage has disconnected many communities, leading the North Carolina Department of Transportation to find quick ways to reconnect them. One of the solutions is dissembled, decommissioned railcars.
Watch a video of a 90-foot railcar bridge installation in North Carolina at the end of this story.
Lee Roberts owns Innovative Bridge Company in Petal, Mississippi, which designs, fabricates, installs and uninstalls railcar bridges and tank car metal culverts across the U.S. The company has been particularly busy in North Carolina since Helene hit. The first of its bridges went up in October in Asheville, and over 60 are currently in use today.
Roberts says some of the initial work was done in Avery County to replace downed bridges for Christmas tree farms, which were hit badly by the hurricane.
Public reaction to the swift installation of these new bridges has been overwhelmingly positive, he says.
A rail car bridge in Elk Park, North Carolina.Innovative Bridge Company
