Posts Categorized: Reed Point Derailment

Unified Command Press Release as of 1200 – July 4

Unified Command confirmed that all cars were removed from the eastern span of the bridge late Monday evening. All cars involved in the derailment have now been safely removed from the bridge and surrounding area. Additional construction to the causeway was performed and a crane pad was constructed. An additional crane will be brought onsite to remove the west bridge span and assist in other construction activities. Crews began initial work on bridge construction today. With no cars remaining, the asphalt source has been removed from the river, mitigating the threat of additional product release. Unified Command has now shifted[…..]

Unified Command Press Release as of 1300 – July 3

Unified Command has confirmed that the last rail car in the river, containing sulfur, along with the bridge steel from the middle span was removed last evening. This morning, teams finished transferring the product from the three remaining asphalt cars on the eastern span of the bridge into stable rail cars. The rail cars with the transferred product will be relocated and staged at a location away from the site. Work to remove the now empty cars remaining on the eastern span of the bridge will continue throughout the day. “Our efforts have been focused on removing the rail cars[…..]

Unified Command Press Release as of 1600 – July 2

The last rail car in the river, containing sulphur, and bridge steel are in the process of being removed. Three rail cars containing asphalt remain on the eastern side of the bridge. Work to transfer product from the first car to stable rail cars began this afternoon. Today notifications to agricultural irrigation ditch users began stating that they can open their irrigation canals which were advised to be closed as a safety precaution. Shoreline teams will monitor the irrigation ditches. “We reached a milestone today with the opening of agricultural ditches. This is imperative for the nearby ranches that rely[…..]

Unified Command Press Release as of 1230 – July 1

Crews worked yesterday to move the asphalt car that had been resting on the eastern span of the bridge. To safely accomplish this, the car was lowered into the water before being moved to the west bank of the river for removal. While completing this work, there was an asphalt material release. Initial assessments indicate the release was minimal based on the amount of material believed to still be remaining in the impacted car. Crews were also able to remove one of the additional impacted molten sulfur cars from the river. As of this morning, the only two cars that[…..]

Unified Command Press Release as of 1230 – June 30

Crews safely removed two additional asphalt cars from the river. In total, seven of the 10 cars that entered the river have been removed, including all six of the impacted asphalt cars. Efforts continue this morning to remove the two remaining molten sulfur cars and the car filled with scrap metal. Construction crews continue preparing the eastern side of the bridge to transfer asphalt product from three upright asphalt cars that did not enter the river to stable railcars.  There is a fourth asphalt car that is resting on the edge of the bridge that has not entered the water.[…..]

Unified Command Press Release as of 1230 – June 29

Unified Command has confirmed that crews have safely removed three cars from the river since the last update at 1 p.m. yesterday. One asphalt car was removed late afternoon on Monday and an additional asphalt car and a sulfur car were removed this morning. At this time, a total of five cars have been removed from the river and five cars remain. The five cars remaining in the river include two asphalt cars, two sulfur cars, and a car filled with scrap metal. Construction to the causeway continues, enabling the crews on site to continue their work to access and[…..]

Unified Command Press Release as of 1300 – June 28

Unified Command shared that crews safely removed a second asphalt car from the river Monday evening. Construction of a causeway continues this morning to improve access to the cars in the river. Additional site preparation work on the east side of the river will also improve access to the rail cars. Once this work is complete, crews will begin transferring the contents of the asphalt cars on the east side of the bridge, that have not entered the river, into stable railcars and moving them to a safe location. Representatives from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) have visited the[…..]

Unified Command Press Release as of 1600 – June 27

Unified Command shared that crews have safely disassembled the west segment of the bridge (photo below). Riprap has been delivered to the site and is currently being utilized to construct a causeway, or stable path, which is anticipated to be completed later this evening. Once that work has been completed crews will focus on removing the remaining tank cars in the river. Communities on the BNSF Railway routes from Laurel to Shelby and Glendive to Snowden should expect increased rail traffic for the next several weeks because of the service interruption on the Montana Rail Link network. Affected counties include[…..]

Unified Command Press Release as of 1000 – June 27

Unified Command announced today that crews were able to access and remove the first impacted car from the river. That car contained asphalt and has been safely transferred to a staging area. Work is underway this morning to begin disassembling the west segment of the bridge. This will allow better access for crews to assess and remove the remaining cars. Riprap is being brought on site this morning to construct a causeway, or a stable path, to assist car assessment and removal. Unified Command observed an ongoing release of asphalt material in the Yellowstone River and is determining next steps[…..]

Unified Command Press Release – June 26

On Sunday evening and Monday morning, progress was made on the removal of railcars that have impacted the Yellowstone River and the Twin Bridges Railroad bridge in Stillwater County, Montana, however a lot of work remains. The contents of both railcars containing sodium hydrosulfide, that were located on the west side of the bridge, have been successfully transferred into stable railcars and moved to safety. Eight railcars on the eastern side of the bridge that did not reach the water have been removed. Five of these railcars contain asphalt and three contain fertilizer. Today, construction teams removed the cars containing[…..]