Cimarron Valley Railroad Bridges – Kansas

Bridges destroyed by fire in Kansas rebuilt ahead of schedule with precast concrete products.

The Cimarron Valley Railroad replaced the bridges that were damaged when a large grass fire broke out in Haskell County, KS in April, 2011. The April 3 fire began along the railroad tracks in Stevens County and made its way into Haskell County. The fire burned about 9,600 acres of grassland before it was extinguished. One home, two unoccupied trailers and twelve outbuildings were also destroyed. Officials evacuated the town of Satanta, KS.

Dammaged or destroyed by fire, major losses to the Railroad included ten box culverts, five small bridges and the 900’ long Cimarron Valley Railroad bridge. The railroad began repairing the damage using precast/prestressed concrete bridge products manufactured by American Concrete Products of Valley, NE and Dallas, TX. The project finished by Jan. 1, 2012. Use of precast concrete products versus conventional construction methods permitted the Railroad to get the bridges back in service months ahead of schedule.