Train cleared off collapsing bridge as city flood clean-up continues
Posted Jun 28, 2013 7:35 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s been a week since our city was hit with major flooding, and the long clean-up process continues.
Less than 24 hours after what could have been a potentially deadly situation, all of the rail cars that were on the partially collapsing Bonnybrook Rail Bridge have been removed.
Officials say they weren’t expecting the operation to be finished until at least 4 a.m. Friday, and it’s unexpected good news.
They called in two locomotives along with two boom trucks to stabilize the cars and then pull them off the teetering bridge.
Deputy Fire Chief Ken Uzeloc says things went very well; they were able to clear the tracks much faster than expected, finishing things off around 2 a.m. Friday.
Uzeloc says they couldn’t have asked for a better result; things could have catastrophic had those cars fallen into the river.
Transportation Safety Board officials are now expected to take over the investigation.
Meantime, the water pumping service the city has been offering residential homes has now been extended to businesses.
Officials call it an important step in getting Calgary’s economy back online and its residents back at work.
If you need water pumped out of your building, you are urged to fill out a request on the city’s mobile 311 app, visit your community support centre, or fill out an online application.
Its estimated to get those more heavily damaged parts of the core online, like the East Village, could take several weeks.
Large generators are being brought in to power up city hall, as well as the municipal complex.
Calgary Emergency Management Agency Director Bruce Burrell says they also plan to close three community support centres today at noon; Connaught, Bridgeland, and Inglewood.
They will be leaving six others still open.
He’s also suspended the city’s by-law, and is allowing RV’s and motorhomes on city streets until August 1st, in a bid to help those evacuees across the region.
