From reports I have read on Trainorders.com and elsewhere, it sounds like my home state is beseiged again with flooding problems; this time in and around Ames and now possibly Colfax as well. Additionally, I understand that BNSF has experienced yet ANOTHER washout on their mainline through southern Iowa necessitating today’s detour over UP’s Overland Route mainline (providing they’re not out of service around Ames). Anybody have the latest info as to what’s going on?
It seems as if there isn’t a week that goes by this summer during which a three-or-four county area in this state gets 6 inches of water dumped on it within a three-hour period. A couple of nights ago it was Boone and Story County’s turn, and unfortunately Colfax is downstream from them. Luckily for us, the Cedar River watershed has been avoided by most of these dousings, or we’d probably have a reprise of 2008 around here.
Here’s the latest from Ames:
http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Ames-opens-drinking-water-sites-for-residents-100536114.html
I suspect that the flooding hasn’t affected the UP transcon, as they’re relatively high elevation-wise through Ames.
Brian, you may be right about the UP’s “Overland Route” somehow escaping the wrath of this latest flooding. I wasn’t aware that it has a somewhat higher elevation through the city of Ames so UP got a little lucky on that one. Guess the Spine Line mainline has washouts in different areas both north and south of Des Moines. And I’m guessing that IAIS got hit pretty good at Colfax. Not sure how bad the washout on BNSF at Ottumwa is but had the Overland Route mainline been under H2O the CN’s mainline would have been about the only choice left for Amtrak or going south from Pacific Junction down to Napier (IIRC).
The long term question is will BNSF either raise their ROW, or make connections and track rights to avoid all these flooding problems the past few years. Floods in August?? My surprize.
They finally reopened I-35 across the Skunk River in Ames earlier today, came through about an hour after the northbound lanes reopened, the southbound reopened about an hour or so ago. Might not be a bad idea in future years to make the Skunk River bridge longer, was acting as a dam today, quite a few feet difference in water level when I came through.
DOT was keeping an eye on I-80 in the Skunk River area, they might have to close it later tonight due to high water…