Cleanup continues, cause undetermined in derailment under Harrison Bridge
Flammable loads didn't leak, Lafayette firefighters say. Plus, LSC teachers tell school board afterschool activities unlikely as dispute over pay, new hours continue. And pretrial dates set in Delphi
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CLEANUP CONTINUES AFTER SATURDAY DERAILMENT CLOSED HARRISON BRIDGE
Rail crews were still on the scene Monday after a derailment sent freight cars – some carrying flammable material – into an abutment and closed Harrison Bridge for hours Saturday.
No cause had been reported for the incident as of Monday, two days after the cars toppled at 11:46 a.m. just under Harrison Bridge, which connects Lafayette and West Lafayette across the Wabash River. But a few new details emerged Monday.
Three of the CSX freight cars that toppled were tankers carrying denatured ethanol, according to Lafayette Fire Department officials. That's ethanol that's been mixed with toxic additives, used as a solvent or fuel. Lafayette Fire Department’s hazardous materials response team responded to the derailment and found that the tank cars were intact and that nothing had spilled, according to a city release.
Lafayette Fire Department described the cars as DOT-117 tank cars. The U.S. Department of Transportation, DOT-117 tank cars – developed in the aftermath of a 2013 rail disaster in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec – feature a thicker tank wall than previous models with insulation and puncture protection.
Two other derailed cars were hopper cars carrying brewer’s yeast. Those loads were dumped along the rail bed and cleaned by CSX crews.
Several of the cars knocked into crash walls surrounding an abutment for Harrison Bridge. That closed the bridge until 11 p.m. Saturday, until inspectors could determine the abutment was safe.
No injuries were reported.
CSX, the rail company involved, released a statement: "There were no injuries or leaks reported, and there was no impact on the surrounding community. The cause of the incident remains under investigation." The company did not respond to other questions about the work to clear the tracks and other issues, including about the loads being carried at the time of the derailment.
Lafayette fire officials, though, indicated they’d been in touch with CSX during the cleanup.
As of Monday afternoon, the off-ramp from Harrison Bridge to northbound Canal Road remained closed.
This was the third high-profile derailment in the past two years in Greater Lafayette.
In early March 2024, a derailment along the Kankakee, Beaverville & Southern Railroad tracks closed Indiana 26 just west of Purdue for more than a month, as rails were repaired, the asphalt approach replaced and grain spilled in the incident was swept up.
In September 2022, four cars carrying slag from steel plants derailed and took a dive into the Wabash River from a 1910 downtown rail bridge. In that case, Norfolk Southern crews repaired tracks and opened the bridge to rail traffic in about a week. Cleanup from the spilled cargo took longer.
LSC TEACHERS CONTINUE PUSHBACK ON NEW SCHOOL TIMES, UNPAID HOURS
For a third time in five weeks, Lafayette teachers filled the room to press the school board to reconsider new start and dismissal times coming for the 2024-25 school year that will add time to their work days without additional pay.
This time, teachers – some carrying signs that read “We’re still here” and “Don’t trash my time” – said they were prepared to cut back on what time they put in at school on activities that were beyond the strict requirements of their contract day.
“It feels that this school board would like the run the district as a business,” Michele Hamilton, a Miller Elementary teacher, said during the LSC school board’s monthly work session. “When teachers take the same approach, and we will, … activities (and) events will not happen in the evenings with teachers present.”
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