+---OPTIMISTIC---+

I am optimistic that the bridge can be fixed with new rails and ties, plus repainting the span girders. Yesterday I spoke to a bridge testing and certification firm that just happens to be located in Colorado. Among other services, they do load testing of old railroad bridges to certify them for increased loading such as larger locomotives.

They told me that the fact that Lobato is made of wrought iron is not necessarily a problem for their testing. They said that the fire would present a complication for the testing, but not an insurmountable problem. Their testing would either certify the bridge as safe for continued operation, or it would prove the bridge to be unsafe and identify where the problems are located.