Railroad Orphan Bridges

SJH was involved in railroad agency coordination, right-of-entry permit coordination, and in-depth inspection of 14 railroad orphan bridges over tracks owned by Conrail, the Port Authority (PATH), NJ Transit (Hudson Bergen Light Rail), CSX, Norfolk Southern, and NYS&W. Inspections were performed in accordance with the National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS). Based on these standards, our team updated the required SI&A data in NJDOT’s Combis system and revised SI&A codes based on inspection findings or identified deficiencies. Depending on the severity of the deficiencies, we prepared Priority/Emergency reports at varying levels, including recommended repair schemes. The bridges varied in configuration, including single-span and multi-span steel trusses; multi-span steel floor beam and multi-stringer bridges; concrete arches; concrete-encased steel girders; and multi-span structures over both roadways and active railroad tracks. Load ratings for these structures, based on both the Load Factor Design (LFD) and Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) approaches, were also performed as part of the scope using the LARS Bridge V8i program. Load ratings of gusset plates for two structures were completed following FHWA guidelines.