Local News
Traffic stoppages at derailment site has drivers fed up
Canadian Pacific shuts down
Hwy. 26 multiple times Thursday
Shutting down the highway without warning or a planned detour has many traveling on Hwy. 26 fed up.
In cleaning up its 15-car train derailment just south of Brownsville, Minn., Canadian Pacific shut down the highway for nearly an hour on multiple occasions Thursday. That forced drivers to wait or fend for themselves on finding another route – in which the Mississippi River prevents anyone from heading east, of course.
“There have been intermittent shutdowns of the highway,” Canadian Pacific spokesman Andy Cummings said. “We have had to close (the highway) off for periods of time when we’ve been working at the site and pieces of equipment have to be moved around.”
Today, and into the weekend, crews will be trying to unload soybean oil from the six rail cars that slid into the Mississippi River. Five of the 15 derailed cars have been placed back on the railroad track.