Rail Viaduct on Road

[WeBuiltThisCityOnSimCity 40]

I know that there are rail viaduct puzzle pieces that cross roads, but are there or are there plans for rail viaducts that run on top of roads?  I know there are elevated rail on road pieces, but are there plans for rail viaduct on road pieces?

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Interesting thought.  Ever seen that in real life?  I admit that I have not.  It would be a massive piece of engineering.

[JessiLaurn 184]

The best examples I can think of are bridges, such as the Government Bridge (aka Arsenal Bridge) that crosses the Mississippi River between Davenport IA and Rock Island IL:  road on the lower deck, double-track heavy rail on the upper deck.  Similar solutions were used for the Old Nipawin Bridge in Saskatchewan (single-track heavy rail over road) and the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge crossing the Niagara River (single-track heavy rail over road).  The MacArthur Bridge across the Mississippi in St. Louis took the reverse approach, with road on the top deck over double-track heavy rail on the lower deck (the Eads Bridge, just upstream, is effectively avenue-over-dual-rail, which does conclude in a rather lovely avenue-over-dual-rail viaduct on the western bank).  

Beyond bridges, I'm at a loss for good examples of heavy rail over road; while light rail has been pressed into such duty at a few yards in New York, I can't think of any purpose-built examples, even in the maddening tangle of rail and road that is Chicago.

[Indiana Joe 1,750]

It's not an immediate project plan.  Things like 7.5 meter viaducts, draggable viaducts, and updated viaduct curve radius to conform with RRW standards are the immediate plans for heavy rail viaducts.

 

I'm sure it exists in real life, but the weight of standard gauge trains probably puts quite a lot of stress on the infrastructure, so keeping viaducts over a stretch of road is probably not the safest thing or easiest to maintain.  You're more likely to see something like this, in Harlem NY:

 

[cmdp123789 710]

So are you saying that 7.5 rails will come out in NAM 33?

[Tarkus 6,932]

I'd say it's unlikely for NAM 33.  NAM 34 is probably a more realistic possibility.  Our main rail developer (Swordmaster) has been on an extended hiatus since the end of the NAM 32 development cycle, so the larger scale rail projects have been in a bit of limbo during that time. 

 

-Tarkus

[cmdp123789 710]

Oh.. thats a sad thing.. Having the ability to build rails at different levels would be awesome... So, not trying to put any pressure, but what is the main thing thats coming out on NAM 33? I mean, whats the big difference between NAM 32 and 33?

[Indiana Joe 1,750]

Oh.. thats a sad thing.. Having the ability to build rails at different levels would be awesome... So, not trying to put any pressure, but what is the main thing thats coming out on NAM 33? I mean, whats the big difference between NAM 32 and 33?

All the stuff recently posted in the SC4D dev threads, and maybe a few surprises.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Rather than slog through all that stuff, I prefer to be surprised.  Pleasantly, I hope.