Across rural Missouri, county officials face a difficult equation. Hundreds of old bridges need replacing, construction costs continue climbing and available funding cannot keep up. Instead of waiting on additional funding that might not ever come, the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council (MSMC) is helping counties explore a proven alternative in neighboring Iowa: repurposed railroad flat cars that create safe, reliable bridges at a fraction of the cost of conventional construction. 
A Growing Need
“The area of the country where the need is the most severe also happens to be the area of the country where resources are the most scarce,” says Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition (STC).
This challenge is not unique to Missouri. Rural counties across the country face similar obstacles.
“We have 265 bridges in Buchanan County, Iowa, and the funding we receive is basically enough to replace or repair about one bridge a year,” says retired Buchanan County engineer Brian Keierleber.
These old bridges play a much bigger role in the soybean value chain than many realize, helping farmers move crops efficiently to market.
“Farmers are the ones who are adversely affected if you have a bridge that is closed or load-limited,” Steenhoek says. “Infrastructure is essential because farmers have to be able to move throughout the transportation network.”
Without this first step, the soy value chain is at risk. Poor roads and bridges create longer routes, increased costs and reduced access for farming communities. Combined with rising construction costs, these challenges require a two-sided solution. Steenhoek believes solving the problem requires more than simply seeking additional funding.
“If the approach is that we just need more money from the federal government, state government or local government, we will be a very disappointed group of people,” he says. “You have to focus not just on the revenue side of the problem, which is getting more money. You also have to focus on the cost side of the problem, which is making existing taxpayer dollars stretch further and getting more bang for your buck.”
Finding ways to reduce replacement costs requires counties to look beyond traditional approaches.
Innovative Solutions
In 2021, the Soy Transportation Coalition examined innovative bridge replacement and repair strategies from across the country. Steenhoek convened a panel of 13 bridge engineers from county governments, state departments of transportation, universities and private engineering firms to identify solutions that could help rural communities do more with limited resources.
To make the list, each concept had to provide significant cost savings, meet established safety standards and be applicable across much of rural America.
Among the 20 approaches identified, railroad flat car bridges stood out as one of the most promising options for rural bridge replacement.
“In 2001, we started building bridges with retired railroad flat cars as part of a research project with Iowa State University (ISU),” Keierleber says. “We could replace these bridges for about one-third to one-half the cost of standard construction. The rail cars, in essence, are a prefabricated superstructure with the deck attached.”
After a flat car is removed from service, it can be inspected, purchased and converted into a bridge superstructure. The steel frame provides the structural support needed to carry traffic, while a deck surface is added to create a drivable bridge.
Once installed, the structure functions much like a traditional bridge. While the concept may seem unconventional, decades of engineering research and real-world use have demonstrated the durability of the design.
“Each one of those cars is rated for 80 to 100 tons,” Keierleber says. “ISU load-tested that bridge, and even an overloaded truck wasn’t getting anywhere near the allowable limits.”
Buchanan County Iowa jumped onto this innovative approach. By embracing railroad flat car bridges and other cost-saving techniques, Buchanan County dramatically increased the number of bridges it could replace.
“We have replaced 35 of our county bridges using railroad flat cars,” Keierleber says.
Because the main structural component is already fabricated, counties can reduce the amount of new steel fabrication and construction time required compared to a traditional bridge replacement.
From Iowa to Missouri
MSMC became interested in the concept after Keierleber presented at a national soybean transportation conference. Recognizing the potential benefits for Missouri farmers, the MSMC board of directors partnered with the Soy Transportation Coalition to introduce the bridge replacement method to counties across the state. The effort focuses on rural counties with significant soybean production, where dependable transportation infrastructure is critical for moving grain, farm equipment and agricultural inputs.
“The goal is to assist counties in Missouri to start replacing county bridges with railroad flat cars,” Keierleber says.
Steenhoek believes it is an obvious choice for Missouri soybean farmers. They are uniquely positioned to champion innovative solutions because efficiency has always been part of agriculture.
“I have never met a successful farmer whose first reaction to a problem is, ‘I know what I’ll do, I’ll spend more money,’” Steenhoek says. “Farmers first ask, ‘Can I fix this problem without spending as much?’ That’s just part of their DNA.”
As part of this initiative, MSMC is helping connect county officials with engineering expertise, educational resources and best practices developed through more than two decades of successful implementation in Iowa. Keierleber is also working with the Missouri Department of Transportation to ensure counties have the information needed to confidently pursue projects. By helping counties stretch infrastructure dollars further, MSMC hopes more rural bridges can be replaced safely, more roads can remain open and Missouri farmers can continue moving soybeans efficiently from field to market.
It is a partnership built around a simple idea: smarter solutions can help rural communities do more with the resources they have. One bridge at a time.
