Each year the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association recognizes exemplary performance among member contractors, their employees and retirees by presenting a series of awards. The NRC is pleased to announce the winners of its 2019 annual awards competition.
The NRC Small Project of the Year award recognizes the Norfolk Southern Grand River Bridge, submitted by Massman Construction Co.
Flooding and resulting debris in the fall of 2019 caused record run-off in the Missouri River Basin region, destroying Norfolk Southern track and adjoining track on the bridge that spanned the Grand River near Brunswick, Mo. NS engaged Massman Construction to assist in rebuilding the bridge to restore service to the line as soon as possible.
Despite stiff currents and an extraordinary amount of river-born debris, Massman mobilized the needed equipment to the site within three days, including two large floating cranes, multiple barges, a tugboat and pile-driving equipment. Meanwhile, Massman convened an experienced team and worked closely with NS personnel and its consulting engineer to design a repair using available materials.
Massman’s innovative use of precast caps, along with NS’s existing surplus steel bridge spans, allowed Massman to restore service to the line rapidly and with no injuries.
NS Vice President of Engineering summed up Massman’s performance this way:
“The fact that we were able to restore service in 27 days was truly remarkable and could not have been accomplished without Massman Construction’s dedicated workforce, their ability to adapt and overcome obstacles on the fly and their understanding of the sense of urgency we had to run trains. This was a true team effort, and Massman Construction rose to every challenge and exceeded everyone’s expectations.”