The 1896 Norwalk River Rail “Walk” Bridge, which has four railroad tracks and carries 175 trains & 125,000 passengers daily, was past its useful life and required complete replacement with a modern alternative. This was done while keeping trains running on at least two of the four tracks at all times. Ducci was a major part of the solution.

The extraordinarily complex logistics and phasing of replacing a nearly 125-year-old 4-track rotating bridge while keeping 2 tracks continuously in service in the busiest rail corridor in the nation was no small feat. The replacement design was carefully selected on the basis of offering the shortest construction schedule, the lowest risk during construction, the prevention of extended navigational restrictions, and other important factors. Beyond the bridge itself, the logistics and phasing of the replacement required an incredible amount of work at the bridge’s approaches to enable trains to switch to the in-service tracks throughout the process – this enabling was Ducci’s primary involvement in this primary phase of the bridge replacement.

Ducci’s scope contained the modifications, removals, and new installation of all overhead Catenary systems to power trains, their supporting Structural Steel and Caisson Foundations, and all associated Signalization work. Ducci’s involvement in the design & planning process has gone back years, lending our services and expertise to the design and scheduling process well before construction activities began. Similarly, we remained heavily involved in assisting the ongoing design and scheduling process for the replacement of the bridge itself.