Rail Safety In The Coulee Region

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An aerial view of an oil train in the Coulee Region.

Photo Credit: Alan Stankevitz
An example of a bridge in need of repair. (This bridge is being repaired this year.)

Photo Credit: Alan Stankevitz
An example of the older tankers considered unsafe in train derailments. Right now, they are scheduled to be phased out by 2025. A DOT-111 Tank Car with a placard of "1267." 1267 is the ID number for crude oil.

Photo Credit: Alan Stankevitz
South of La Crosse at Genoa, trains run closely to the Mississippi River, a power plant and the Lock and Dam system.

Photo Credit: Alan Stankevitz
This bridge needed emergency shoring up and was replaced in the summer of 2015. There are many more old rail bridges in various stages of disrepair south of La Crosse.

Photo Credit: Alan Stankevitz
La Crosse Swing Bridge. Built in 1876, updated in 1902, declared an "unreasonable obstruction" in 1998 by the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. Plans were to replace the bridge, but never happened. There was a serious collision with the bridge in 2011 with a barge.

Photo Credit: Alan Stankevitz