Atchafalaya River

Mile 41.5 - Krotz Springs Union Pacific Railroad Bridge

John Ruskey

20 Apr 2026

41.5 Krotz Springs Union Pacific Railroad Bridge

Towboats and other big boats have 475 feet of clearance to get underneath the two highway bridges US 190 and US 71, but when they get to the railroad bridge, it’s a different story altogether. Here the elbow room distance is quartered. There are two narrow openings for navigation under the railroad bridge, both are about 130 feet wide, which isn’t much for a towboat 2 barges wide, or 60 feet. The steady handed pilots must have to hit this opening in a straight on run with no angle, and no sideways motion in the water. This is a truss through bridge.

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