Rating:
5 votes

DSRR - Ouachita River Bridge

Union Parish, Louisiana, and Ouachita Parish, Louisiana

Photos 

East Approach1

From the east bank toward the river See the lock on the barb wire LOL.

Photo taken by Brad Smith in May 2013

Enlarge

BH Photo #254409

Map 

Street Views 

Description 

This bridge is swung open and just sitting. There is one through truss section to the west and an intact but grown up approach on the eastern bank. Tracks are mostly pulled up. I wish I had had the courage to walk out on the dock by the refinery to get a good picture. You can see it decently in the satellite imagery. You can see it pretty well from the LA-2 bridge (it is downstream...to the South)

Facts 

Overview
Abandoned through truss bridge over Ouachita River on Railroad
Location
Sterlington, Union Parish, Louisiana, and Ouachita Parish, Louisiana
Status
Derelict/abandoned
History
Built 1904, abandoned ca. 1988
Railroads
- Delta Southern Railroad (DSRR)
- Little Rock & Monroe Railway
- Memphis, Helena & Louisiana Railway (MH&L)
- Missouri Pacific Railroad (MP)
- St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway (StLIM&S)
- Union Pacific Railroad (UP)
Design
Through truss swinging span with one through truss stationary span
Also called
MoPac - Ouachita River Bridge
UP - Ouachita River Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+32.68911, -92.08902   (decimal degrees)
32°41'21" N, 92°05'20" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
15/585398/3617188 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Sterlington
Inventory number
BH 56334 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Abandoned (3,745)
Built 1904 (571)
Built during 1900s (7,365)
Delta Southern Railroad (1)
Have street view (27,207)
Little Rock & Monroe Railway (1)
Louisiana (709)
Memphis, Helena & Louisiana Railway (3)
Missouri Pacific Railroad (383)
Movable (3,021)
Navigable waterway (2,164)
 Ouachita Parish, Louisiana (15)
Ouachita River (34)
Owned by railroad (12,669)
Railroad (15,794)
St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway (35)
Sterlington, Louisiana (2)
Swing (1,486)
Through truss (15,354)
Truss (33,256)
Union Pacific Railroad (2,379)
Union Parish, Louisiana (4)

Update Log 

  • November 18, 2019: Updated by Cliff Darby: Added category "Memphis, Helena & Louisiana Railway"
  • October 27, 2017: New Street View added by Cliff Darby
  • October 17, 2017: New photos from Jeff Dubea
  • May 24, 2013: Updated by Brad Smith: Added categories "Ouachita River", "Railroad", "Navigable waterway"

Sources 

  • Brad Smith - gaberdine [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • Luke
  • Cliff Darby - cliffsta1987 [at] gmail [dot] com
  • Jeff Dubea
  • Railway Age, Volume 38 - Book
  • Douglas Butler
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Comments 

DSRR - Ouachita River Bridge
Posted October 17, 2017, by Luke

According to https://books.google.com/books?id=8cs1AQAAMAAJ&q=Little+Rock... the construction on this bridge began in September 1904.

DSRR - Ouachita River Bridge
Posted October 17, 2017, by Jeff Dubea (jeffdubea [at] yahoo [dot] com)

I saw this on a boat trip in October 2017. It appears to be abandoned and is swung open. There are still wires crossing it, and the telegraph poles are still there. It is near the chemical plant.

I would like to know when it was built and how long it has been abandoned. I hope they do not destroy it. If anyone has any additional information, please contact me.

DSRR Ouachita River Bridge
Posted February 26, 2014, by Kelly Tucker (ktucker [at] csh [dot] msstate [dot] edu)

I viewed this bridge on 02/22/2014 and noted the padlock is still in place. I noted that the bridge crosses about from southeast to northwest. All of the rails on the northwest side are gone but I did find the railbed. The railroad still serves two companies in Sterlington (Angus Chemicals and one other site). The trestle leading to the bridge is right along the side of the road that runs next to the river.