Final report still not issued in freight train wreck

ROCKVIEW -- It's been more than a year since seven people were injured when two freight trains collided, partially collapsing the overpass on Route M near Rockview.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which has been investigating the collision, said the probe would require up to a year to complete, but the NTSB has yet to issue a final report.

About 2:30 a.m. May 25, 2013 -- a Saturday -- a 60-car Union Pacific train hit a 75-car Burlington Northern Santa Fe train at the Rockview intersection, derailing rail cars and igniting a Diesel blaze that could be seen for miles. The cars -- carrying scrap metal, automobiles and auto parts -- rammed support columns of the Route M overpass, causing it to buckle and partially collapse.

A new overpass and two charred locomotives are the only remaining evidence of the crash.

A preliminary report released by the NTSB indicated the Union Pacific train may have run through a stop signal.

Two automobiles on the overpass when it fell were sent into the edges of the collapsed sections. The five passengers were treated and released the same day, as were a UP train conductor and engineer.

Scott County deputy Justin Wooten was among the first at the scene and later received two awards, one from Union Pacific and one from the Scott County Sheriff's Department, commending him for his role in a rescue. Wooten climbed down to the crumpled engine, which was already burning, and pulled the two employees from the wreckage without hesitation.

Both railroad companies, Missouri Department of Transportation personnel and other cleanup crews were able to remove the wreckage and demolish the remaining portions of the bridge during the Memorial Day weekend, and trains were using the tracks less than three days after the accident.

The original overpass was constructed about 20 years ago to eliminate the use of at-grade railroad crossings in Rockview. Following the incident and the bridge's collapse, motorists were using the at-grade crossings.

On July 1, 2013, a $2,319,363 contract for construction of the new overpass was awarded to Goodwin Brothers Construction Co.

The new overpass officially opened to traffic Aug. 30, after three months of detours for local commuters.

"County Road 209 took a big toll with the detour through Rockview," Scott County Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger said. "A road that normally carried 50 to 80 cars per day was carrying approximately 2,700 per day by our traffic counter."

The county received $64,319 from Union Pacific to repair and improve the affected roads during the period of increased traffic on county roads. While some work took place after the overpass was opened to traffic, some work to Frisco Road was completed after the collision to make the road smoother for commuters.

County Road 210 was resurfaced in its entirety; County Road 209 and Frisco Road also were affected.

Burger said drainage issues and cleanup were a priority of the county during this process.

"The railroad really came through for funding the projects, and just hours after the collision, both railroads had contacted me to see what Scott County needed in terms of assistance," Burger said. "Improvements were made to drainage in the area, which will benefit both the residents of Rockview and the farmland surrounding it," he said.

Burger said the county added railroad crossing signs and Burlington Northern updated its track crossing shortly after the collision.

While the new bridge is similar to the old one, MoDOT district construction and materials manager Andy Meyer said there are differences.

"The old bridge was a five-span; this one is a three-span with longer beams and bigger, more robust piers," Meyer said. He said the new bridge is higher, to allow more clearance for trains passing below.

The new overpass also boasts a chain-link fence.

NTSB investigator Robert Sumwalt said the investigation would include collecting information, routine testing of railroad employees for drugs and alcohol, testing the track and nearby rail signals, looking at the bridge's design and reviewing video footage captured during the wreck.