The bridge in question is near Risbeck towards Colfax. Over the years a couple of other bridges on the branch have experienced fires and UP only rebuilt the burnt portions with wood as needed. When bridges were due for replacement they used steel with wood ties, no ballast decks were installed. Most of the bridges are in pretty good shape. The Pleasant Valley line, the one that goes to Thornton, has a trestle with a through truss center span (near Winona) that has been giving problems with crushed caps under the truss supports---this is the line that everyone seems to want to put more traffic on by rebuilding the line between Thornton and Oakesdale. (By the way how much would that cost---is $2 million a mile still a good figure Mr. Hepkema and JEM.?) What is so important about line is two fold, first it keeps the railroad in tact and gives the entire railroad connections to both UP and BNSF helping the railroad gain business and second, the WSDOT purchased the lines (against some good advice) because it wanted to preserve what little rail service remained in the area as an economic boost and a hedge against dams being breached. The state also was not willing to take the blame for the loss of rail service resulting from Washington State University switching from Low Sulpher Coal to the MUCH more expensive natural gas---the resulting loss of traffic made the line unprofitable---anyway the state bought the line with the promise that service would be preserved, and now when the line needs something the state is trying to back out of the commitment they made. I guess they expected the line to be free of any big expenses, or maybe they really didn't mean it.