WEED, Calif. — Union Pacific’s main line linking the Pacific Northwest and California — its Interstate 5 corridor — is likely to remain closed until at least Sept. 1 as a result of the wildfire that destroyed the massive Dry Canyon Bridge in Northern California along with 9 miles of right-of-way.
The railroad informed customers in a July 9 advisory that the railroad has a reroute plan in place, but that the alternate route will add 48 to 72 hours to shipment times.
An article on Union Pacific’s website reports work has begun to replace the 1,200-foot-long, 150-foot-high bridge near Hotlum, Calif., roughly 5 miles northeast of Weed, Calif. The bridge and right-of-way were damaged June 28 by the Lava Fire [see “UP service disrupted by fire …,” Trains News Wire, June 30, 2021]. At that point, the fire had burned 13,000 acres and led to the evacuation of 8,000 people; it has subsequently grown to more than 26,000 acres and is now 77% contained, the Mt. Shasta News reports.
Union Pacific reports three cranes of 200 to 600 tons are now on site, after a road was constructed to allow them to reach the bridge. Eric Gehringer, executive vice president-Operations, said in UP’s report that he maintains “the highest confidence that our world-class Engineering team with the support of many other departments will safely and expeditiously return our line to service.”
Along with the disruption of freight service, the closure has led to the cancellation of Amtrak’s Coast Starlight north of Sacramento since July 1, after the passenger railroad initially operated an overnight bus bridge [see “’Canadian,’ Rocky Mountaineer, ‘Coast Starlight’ disrupted by fires,” News Wire, July 5, 2021]. Amtrak plans to reinstate a bus bridge between Sacramento and Klamath Falls later this week, with trains operating on the Los Angeles-Sacramento and Klamath Falls-Seattle portions. Watch Trains News Wire for further information as it becomes available.
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