Railroad Forums 

  • Boat Strikes Livingston Ave Bridge in Albany, NY

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1498262  by hs3730
 
The eastbound LSL was the last train to cross the bridge while the boat was still lodged. It miraculously arrived at ALB on-time, unimpeded by this issue other than a brief hold before the bridge (as this was right when they were beginning the operation to dislodge the boat).

It was amusing seeing the (boat crew?) board the boat by climbing down from the bridge [there were also CSX workers on site]. As for why someone needed to board, the boat was unoccupied when it had gotten loose from its moorings in Troy (along with a few other boats, thanks to ice flows and other boats hitting them... sounds rather comical). Both the I90 bridge and the Dunn Memorial bridge (which flank this one) were closed during the AM rush hour due to having been struck by different boats. Times Union Article.
 #1498523  by TrainPhotos
 
The ice buildup on the Mohawk and Hudson rivers was quite impressive. I was beginning to wonder what impact the ice would have once the temps climbed above freezing after that weekend storm. Temperatures in the region were generally at or below zero, with a biting and dangerous wind chill. Frankly, I’m somewhat relieved that nothing worse happened with how cold things got.
 #1498525  by TrainPhotos
 
Backshophoss wrote:With an empty Barge n the loose along with the boats,they were lucky that barge missed the bridge piers at LAB! :wink:
With the current and ice pushing on that one pier via the large white boat, the barge impacting the runaway boat could have done some serious damage. I was half expecting to see the whole bridge come down at that point. CSX may want to contemplate installing some simple bumper pilings upstream, along with the coast guard & local government requiring ice buildup policy which could prevent such runaway flotillas in the future. Some of these bridges carry more than trains & traffic, they have pipelines and cross-river electrical conduit.