At 1:09 p.m. this afternoon, the first freight train rolled over BNSF’s Main 1 track and the second repaired Rice Creek bridge.  The westbound train was restricted to 10 mph to give repair crews a chance to observe the newly repaired bridge under a load.  Subsequent trains will traverse the bridge at increasing higher speeds as long as the bridge engineers are satisfied.  The Main 2 bridge was opened to freight traffic at about 10:00 p.m. last night, so now both mainlines are back in service – a mere 78 hours after both bridges were severely damaged at 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning. 

 Shortly after the first westbound freight cleared the bridge, the fleet of Northstar commuter trains passed over the bridges headed toward Target Field, in time to carry passengers west for the afternoon commute. 

 Some of the bridge repairs are temporary, and will be replaced by permanent solutions at some point in the future.  Much debris from the derailed train remains, most notably the rail car lying in Rice Creek under the Main 2 bridge.  BNSF will work during regular hours over the next several days to complete the debris removal and cleanup.  Most of the heavy equipment has moved on to other incidents; many to a derailment in South Dakota. 

 We’re still waiting to hear from MNPCA that water quality tests for Locke Lake are clear to lift the restriction on recreational use.