Soldiers Repair Bombed Out Bridge

By Maj. Randall Baucom
1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division Public Affairs

CAMP TAJI — Coalition Forces worked quickly to repair a bridge, damaged by insurgents, on a major Iraqi highway May 15. The southbound bridge on Highway 1, which spans the Grand Canal, was attacked by a suicide car bomber May 13.

Soldiers from the 502nd Engineer Company, 565th Engineer Battalion, responded to the attack in less than 36 hours, linking up on Camp Taji with soldiers from the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, who provided security for the operations.

In the early morning hours of May 15, soldiers from the 502nd Engineer Company arrived on the site and began a thorough inspection the bridge. It was then determined that a Mabry-Johnson Bridge would be used to span the 30-foot-by-40-foot hole created by the suicide bomber.

The May 13 blast blew a large hole in the center span of the bridge, but fortunately failed to cause significant damage to the main superstructure of the bridge. Al Qaeda insurgents operating in the area are believed to be responsible for the attack.

The soldiers immediately went to work constructing the bridge they brought down on trucks from Balad. The 30-meter span took 48 hours to construct.

"It was important to provide immediate repair to this vital piece of infrastructure that is a key route for commuters to Baghdad and for commerce. The 502nd worked tirelessly to make sure these repairs got done," said Alexandria, Va., native, Capt. Nathaniel Davis, the brigade engineer officer for the 1st "Ironhorse" Brigade Combat Team. "The attack on this bridge by Al Qaeda is an attack on the Iraqi people themselves.

Source...