PORTLAND, Ore. — A busy bridge into a Portland industrial area could be backed up for weeks or even months as a result of a Union Pacific derailment on Saturday.
Four of the six lanes of the North Going Street bridge have been shut down after two locomotives and three tank cars derailed in a Union Pacific yard and hit bridge supports, the Oregonian reports. An inspection on Sunday found two support beams and part of the bridge deck had been damaged.
The bridge provides the sole public access to Swan Island, which includes several warehouses and delivery centers. With just one lane open in each direction, companies such as FedEx and United Parcel Service, which both have hubs on the island, could face major delays.
The Associated Press reports that the derailment occurred about 9:20 a.m. on Saturday. The three tank cars were carrying liquefied petroleum gas but no leak occurred.
Union Pacific said it is investigating the cause of the derailment.
As Mr. Turner stated, used to be. I believe, historically, it was an airport. Then heavily expanded, filled in, and numerous industries populate the area, including Freightliner Truck. The area sits in a difficult area to enter, due to the geographical constraints. The entrance spans the main UP yard – at its narrowest point. But arm-chair experts always have a complaint, never a solution.
Mr Forbes, it could be there used to be an island there until a bunch of fill was added. Coney Island, Brooklyn and Duck Island in Trenton NJ aren’t islands anymore either.
In Alaska we’ve had two major bridges damaged to the point of serious road closures in the last year due to overheight trucks. Both were at chokepoints without a good detour option—certainly not for the amount of traffic through those points…
Swan Island ? My understanding of the term island is apiece of land surrounded by water. If the sea level does rise this may be the case, but at the current time looking at Google maps it appears to be part of the main land. What I see is a planning error which has been allowed the development of a large industrial area with only one way in or out which is over the bridge.