REED POINT, Mont. — The Montana Rail Line main line remains closed at the site of the June 24 bridge collapse and derailment that sent 10 freight cars into the Yellowstone River, but work is continuing “around the clock” to restore normal operations as soon as possible, according to the latest update from the Unified Command overseeing incident response.
The update today (Friday, July 7) also outlines continued and expanding efforts to recover asphalt that spilled into the river from six tank cars.
Crews involved in construction of the new bridge near Reed Point are hoping the work can be “accomplished in weeks rather than months,” according to today’s update.
Environmental cleanup work has recovered about 35,000 pounds of asphalt as of Thursday night. A rough estimate is that a maximum of 500,000 pounds entered the water; a more accurate figure will eventually be available when the cars recovered from water are cut open and their contents are removed and weighted. Not all material that entered the water will be recoverable, but some 150 people are now working as part of collection crews to recover as much as possible.
Meanwhile, the Billings Gazette reports that Boeing 737 fuselages that normally move via the closed rail line will be trucked around the collapsed bridge via Interstate 90. Several of the fuselages are currently waiting on a siding near Laurel, Mont., for access ramps to be built to handle the truck trailers for the move.
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