SKOL Bridge Rebuilt in Record Time

Disasters are often a time when you see what people are made of. And when a trestle bridge on the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL) burned down on June 24, it revealed a spirit of teamwork not only from the SKOL team but by the contractors and builders as well.

The fire on the 505-foot long wooden structure spread quickly, and within approximately 12-13 minutes, flames engulfed the entire bridge. The trestle is located one-half mile east of Independence, Kansas. Area firefighters arrived at the scene, and Watco customer CVR Energy from nearby Coffeyville, Kansas, brought a chemical foam truck to the fire and sprayed about 200 gallons of fire suppressant on the structure. Unfortunately, the fire was too intense and forced firefighters to allow it to burn itself out. But the SKOL team, including Jerry Waun, SKOL General Manager; Mike Mullinex, Assistant Roadmaster; Tyler Burke, Car Foreman; Dustin Coester, Trainmaster, and Lou Foreman from BL Trenching were able to save the piles, which helped speed the rebuilding process.

Just two days following the fire, rebuilding began on this crucial line connecting the SKOL to Oklahoma’s Tulsa and Port of Catoosa locations. Team members rerouted railcars through Columbus, Kansas, and extra trains were run during the week to ensure customers’ needs were taken care of while the rebuilding of the bridge took place.

Bridge Engineer Mike McDermott drove down from Iowa to lead the bridge replacement project. Koppers Railroad Structures and Brinks Engineering Solutions were the lead bridge contractors with support from Elnicki Inc. and B & L Trenching.

P.J. Forbes, Vice President of Operations, said, “It was amazing to watch. We had two competing companies working together to complete the project and neither one showed any ego. It was like they were one company working in unison. All of that was kept together by the leadership of Mike McDermott. Every day he gave a briefing that laid out the day in detail, so everything meshed. What was estimated to take about 30 days was completed in just 16 because of the exceptional teamwork involved. Kudos to Mike, Cameron Ginther (Project Manager), Chance Adair (Senior Project Manager), and Bryan Waldon (Senior Project Manager) for their daily leadership on the project and the focus on safely getting the job done and to Jerry Waun, the heart and soul of the SKOL, who kept the line moving.”

Getting the bridge completed in 16 days was not only a huge accomplishment, but 100-degree days and rain delays were obstacles the teams overcame during the process.

Waun stated, “It was amazing to watch it all unfold. Through the heat, rain, and extended workdays, there were no injuries or accidents. We have an amazing team, and I can’t thank them or our contractors enough for everything they did.”

On Sunday, July 12, Waun celebrated the completion of the bridge by grilling steaks onsite and the next day, the first train rolled eastbound across the new bridge.