A short-line railroad in Marion County, Tennessee, has been awarded federal grant funding to pay most of the cost of replacing an aging wooden trestle bridge over a local stream on the Alabama state line.
Sequatchie Valley Switching Co., a short-line railroad that spans between Jasper, Tennessee, and Bridgeport, Alabama, got part of a $23.7 million federal grant released to Tennessee to help fund improvement to railroad bridges across the state.
The Sequatchie Valley Railroad, as it was once called, is an 11.5-mile short-line railroad serving as a connection with CSX Transportation railroad at Bridgeport, according to company information and history. The company is a subsidiary of family-owned Ironhorse Resources Inc., based in O'Fallon, Illinois.
The engineer's estimated cost of the bridge replacement stands at $940,000, according to Tennessee Department of Transportation officials and documents on the federal grant. Half the funding for the project comes from the federal government, 45% comes from the state and the remaining 5% comes from the operator, agency spokesperson Rae Anne Bradley said in an email. Based on the total estimated cost, that would amount to about $47,000 for the local company.
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The bridge at issue for the rail company crosses over Poplar Springs Branch in Richard City, a tiny community sandwiched between the town of South Pittsburg and the Alabama state line, according to Byron Clinton, director of East Operations for Ironhorse Resources.
"The funds will completely replace that bridge," Clinton said. "Right now it's a timber structure. It'll be a steel, open-deck bridge. It's going to resemble the same length and height of the current bridge."
The engineer's statement on the bridge notes the stream bed beneath it is subject to significant scour from running water that undermines the old span's structures. The timber components of the current bridge are also well past their intended life, which affects the bridge's load-carrying capacity.
Now, the company must move forward on designs and its plans for replacement, Clinton said. The work should begin in late 2025 or early 2026.
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The bridge in Marion County is one of 42 rail bridges in Tennessee that are past their intended lifespan and need immediate repair or replacement through the grant's funding, officials said in an emailed statement. The bridges in the statewide grant are along 10 different short lines and in 12 different counties.
TDOT is the lead applicant for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement Grant awarded to Tennessee by the Federal Railroad Administration, state officials said in an emailed statement. The state agency will manage the grant award by collaborating with rail operators, rail authorities, rural communities and industries.
"This proposal presents a unique public-private partnership opportunity with long-term impacts and a new program to assist with the capital-intensive rehabilitation of bridges in primarily rural communities," Bradley said. "Most of the project bridges are old timber structures, which will be rebuilt or rehabilitated to ensure safe and reliable operations for years to come."
Marion County Mayor David Jackson was happy to see some infrastructure support for the county's only short-line railroad.
"We're thankful to be able to see some of that money to improve our short-line railway to provide rail service to some of our industries in Marion County," Jackson said in a phone interview.
Short lines are a critical part of the state's transportation network and rural economies, TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley said in the news release on the funding.
"Rehabilitation of the rail bridge infrastructure will lead to economic gains in the communities they serve with jobs, improved and expanded operations, and enhance supply chain efficiency and safety as it keeps large, heavy cargo and hazardous commodities off our highways," Eley said.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.