(Iowa television station WHBF posted the following story on its website on March 20.)
FORT MADISON, Iowa — Armed guards are securing a local bridge calling it a “critical structure” and a target for possible terrorist attacks.
There are only two sites in the state of Iowa now requiring more security in case of attack. It may surprise you where and what those sites are. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad bridge in Fort Madison is one of them. The other is the Union Pacific railroad bridge in Clinton.
Channel 4 Eyewitness News went to Clinton, Iowa to check out the new security at the bridge. So how tight is the new security? Our news team was stopped and questioned by three different police officers just for standing near the bridge.
One of the officers told us that this railroad bridge over the Mississippi River is now under ‘special watch’ after the Department of Homeland Security labeled it a ‘critical structure’ on Monday night. The orange level alert means armed guards now watch the bridge 24 hours a day.
Folks who live near nearby tell Channel Four Eyewitness News that the bridge is not only critical to Clinton’s economy, it feeds the country’s economy. The bridge carries 60 to 70 trains a day from LosAngeles to Chicago.
It’s a similar scene in Fort Madison, Iowa, where the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad bridge is also being secured by guards 24 hours a day.