Derailed tanker cars along U.S.Highway 59, in northwestern Minnesota. (Kittson Co. Emergency Department)
KITTSON COUNTY, Minn. (KFGO) – It’s going to take more time to clear wreckage from a train derailment in northwestern Minnesota. As a result, it will take another week to reopen a section of Highway 59 between Lancaster and Lake Bronson.
24 cars of a CPKC train derailed along the highway on May 31. Thirteen were tank cars carrying hazardous material. There was no fire and no one was injured.
Kittson County Emergency Director Scott Olson said crews are now removing the liquid from the tank cars. The cars will be cleaned, dismantled, and then hauled by truck to a salvage business in Thief River River Falls.
Olson said the proximity to the highway where the tank cars are located is a safety issue.
Olson said other non-hazardous derailed cars contained grain and other materials and were moved to a field a distance from the derailment. He said the main tracks were repaired and back in use the day after the derailment.
MNDOT will also have to make repairs to the highway before it can be reopened.
The derailment remains under investigation.
Comments