Lunda Construction to Replace 113-Year-Old St. Paul Rail Bridge
Tutor Perini announced July 8 that its subsidiary Lunda Construction will replace the 113-year-old Roberts Street Railroad Bridge spanning the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minnesota, according to Construction Dive.
Market Impact
The project will swap the existing 189-foot vertical-lift truss bridge for a new 215-foot rolling bascule truss structure. Scope includes replacing six steel approach bridges, rehabilitating existing concrete piers, and removing timber protection walls along both sides of the river’s navigation channel. Lunda will also install a new steel-pile protection wall around a new support pier, add a 38-foot-diameter sand-filled crash bumper, and pour a concrete support platform for the bridge’s new operations building.
The contract value wasn’t disclosed, but the award lands in Tutor Perini’s backlog for the second quarter of 2026. Construction is set to begin this month, with substantial completion scheduled for December 2029, a timeline stretching more than three years. Notably, the existing bridge must stay open to both rail and marine traffic throughout construction, a constraint that will shape sequencing and staging for every trade on site. Wisconsin-based Lunda specializes in heavy civil work including bridges, rail infrastructure, and marine construction as a Tutor Perini subsidiary.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Demolition and marine crews: Removing timber protection walls on both riverbanks and prepping the old vertical-lift structure for replacement will require marine-capable demolition subs comfortable working around active rail and barge traffic on the Mississippi.
- Structural steel subs: Six steel approach bridges need replacement alongside the new 215-foot bascule truss span, a multi-year package likely broken into phased procurement as Lunda sequences work around the operating bridge.
- Concrete and civil subs: Pier rehabilitation, the new steel-pile protection wall, and the concrete support platform for the operations building point to sustained demand for concrete forming, pile-driving, and marine foundation crews through the 2026-2029 window.
- Scheduling consideration: Because the current bridge must remain operational for rail and marine traffic during construction, subs bidding packages should expect tight staging windows and possible night or shutdown-window work tied to rail and river traffic coordination.
- Timeline for bid packages: With construction starting July 2026 and substantial completion targeted for December 2029, subcontractors interested in later-phase work (approach spans, operations building, protection wall) should track Lunda’s procurement announcements over the coming months as the project ramps up.
