Another Mississippi Bridge.
The Southern Pacific Railroad Co.’s bridge to be built across the Mississippi river at New Orleans, La., will, it is believed, be the largest steel railroad bridge in the world, considering the quantity of metal used in its construction and its length. It will be a double-track bridge about 10,500 feet long. The approach spans will vary from twenty-five to 150 feet in length, according to the height of the towers. The main river bridge will be built on the cantilever principle, and will be 1070 feet in length, with spans of 608 feet on either side. The pier foundations will extend from a point eighty feet below the bottom of the river, and will be sunk by open dredging. The estimated weight of metal required is 25,000 tons, or 50,000,000 pounds. The cost will be about $5,000,000.
The bridge will give the Southern Pacific system an all-rail entrance into New Orleans, and form a most important link in railroad communication between Texas and the Southwest and the Gulf States east of the Mississippi river.
The largest railroad bridge completed is over the Firth of Forth in Scotland. The main structure is 5330 feet long, but the approaches are said to be shorter than the New Orleans bridge.