Currently motorists using State Hwy 35 along the Mississippi River between La Crosse, Wis. and Prairie du Chien, Wis. have to use a 33 mile detour because of a train derailment that happened there last week. Crawford County Emergency management released more information about the cleanup efforts taking place along the River after a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train derailed last Thursday. The incident happened just south of the Village of De Soto and caused over 20 train cars to spill into the water on both sides of the tracks.
The wreck caused a halt in rail traffic and vehicle traffic along the river initially but Crawford County Emergency Management Director James Hackett said over the weekend rail traffic has resumed but vehicle traffic on the highway has still not been restored even though the highway was not damaged by the train wreck. Hackett did say they are hoping the highway will be reopened by Wednesday. Hackett went on to say the reason the road was closed was to allow access for the large equipment needed to clean up train cars from the highway. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation granted BNSF access and closed State Hwy 35 for the cleanup. A temporary road was built from the highway through the large ditch to reach the wreck from the highway.
Initially there was some concern about hazardous materials even though most of the trains cars were box cars and not tankers. Some the cars did contain paint, lithium-ion batteries, and coffee creamer. Two of the cars that went into the water did begin floating downriver but were contained and did not contain any of those hazardous materials. Hazmat teams did respond to the scene and Hackett said they used booms to contain any incidental materials that could get into the water.
Crawford County Emergency Management said they have received some questions from the public about what appears to be foam that some residents have reported in Prairie du Chien down main street and in the marina area. Emergency Management said the hazmat teams and officials with the Environmental Protection Agency determined nothing hazardous was released from the derailment that would be a danger to the public, and the State of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources spill line has been contacted to have a spill coordinator look into those reports.
Crawford County Emergency Management said their office has also received questions about why trains were allowed to continue to run through the area when the Mississippi River has reached near record levels of flooding. The office responded to those questions saying “BNSF is a private entity that owns the private property which the tracks are on and property adjacent to the tracks. They are held to standards by the federal government on how they must inspect their track, when they can run, when they must shut down, and any other restriction on them. BNSF was monitoring and inspecting lines through Crawford County during the flood. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is doing a full investigation into the derailment.”
The office gave a similar response to questions about why the rail traffic has been allowed to restart even though the wreckage cleanup is still not completed and the cause of the derailment is still unknown. The office responded by saying “Railways are overseen by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Inspections were completed and all guidelines that the FRA have provided to BNSF have been followed (According to FRA). The FRA is conducting a full investigation, but at this time they have been cleared to re-open tracks. Railways are private property and governed by the federal Government.”
Hackett said the State Department of Transportation has been in talks with BNSF about any damage that may be caused to the highway from the cleanup efforts. Hackett said “The main concern is public safety. If it was not a public safety hazard, we would not have been shutting these roads down. We understand the extreme frustration and extended travel times this has caused our community. We will open it as soon as safely possible.”
As far as a timeline to reopen the highway Emergency Management said “Our plan is to have it open Wednesday but understand unforeseen circumstances could happen to extend this.”
Add comment