ODESSA, Texas — Motorists can expect detours along a 12-mile stretch of Interstate Business 20 as Union Pacific Railroad replaces all of its rail lines, switches and crossing surfaces in Odessa, the Odessa American reports.
The work is expected to continue in spurts through November, railroad officials say.
On Monday, a bevy of UP work gangs began replacing all three of the railroad’s steel rails, said Charles Miller, a UP supervisor based in Missouri who is here overseeing the laying of new steel rails.
UP spokesman Mark Davis in Omaha said UP is spending $7.5 million to replace its rails, switches and crossing surfaces.
Motorists should note that the heavy equipment involved in the rail replacement triggers crossing guard arms, Miller said.
“There’s going to be a little bit of confusion for the next few weeks, but if they’ll work with us, we’ll be out of here in two to three weeks,” Miller said.
Miller’s steel gang will continue working along Business 20 through Saturday. Another gang will return Sept. 16 through Sept. 19 to replace 13 switchers, which move trains from one track to another.
In addition, the Omaha, Neb.-based railroad will be resurfacing all 25 of its crossings in Odessa and Ector County. That portion of the project will continue through November, Miller said. UP gangs will remove the wood planks and asphalt, replacing them with cement. During this phase of the project, traffic will be rerouted as UP crews skip around from one crossing to another and then back again, Miller said.
“It will be like a moving project,” said city of Odessa Public Works Director Matt Squyers. “Individual crossings will be closed periodically.” Added Miller, “There’s gonna be some detours from day to day, but everybody will be happier when it’s done because (the crossings) won’t be near as rough as they are now.” Davis said UP spends about $1 billion in “major capital projects” like the Odessa project.
The worn rails did not cause any mishaps, he added.
To accommodate the construction, UP will “stage” all UP trains in El Paso, Fort Worth and perhaps as far away as Memphis so that they roll through Odessa only at night, he said.
“We’ll create a window, where, for eight hours, you won’t notice any trains, but then they’ll turn `em loose.” An average of 10 trains pass through Odessa each day, Davis said, adding that, based on its economic projections of increased demand for intermodal transportation from Los Angeles to Memphis, UP expects that number to rise to 12 per day.
In intermodal transportation, goods are moved via a network of ships, trains and trucks, he said.
“On the ocean-going vessels, you have containers that you see double-stacked on one another,” Davis said. “When they reach their destination, they put them on a frame with wheels — a chassis — and then they drag them by truck to the customers’ places.” The majority of goods on UP trains are Pacific Rim exports being shipped to ports in Los Angeles, Oakland or Seattle-Tacoma, Davis said. The goods are then loaded onto trains in double-stacked containers for shipment to UP terminals in Memphis and Atlanta.
UP expects the rail corridor linking Los Angeles, Memphis and Atlanta to “really start opening up” in the coming months.
At the Eastern Seaboard, some goods are loaded back onto container ships for shipment to Europe, he said.