I-135 Bridge Nearly Wiped Out by Railroad Deailment

[WichitaRoads]

I am back form the dead..... I wonder how long it will take to fix this:

https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article315141139.html

[kphoger]

I found about it Saturday morning, because were on our way to a work day at church, and we were all redirected off the highway onto K-96.  Then everybody decided to get off at the next exit and turn around, and the tailback extended all the way up the off-ramp onto the K-96 mainline.  I simply went one exit farther and avoided having to wait in that nasty line.

Train cars were all accordioned up under bridge, and one of them knocked a support pillar out at a wonky angle.  Supposedly the best place to see it all from was the I-135 to K-96 ramp, but I didn't know yet that I should be looking at anything.  It's a strange place for something like that to happen, because trains are typically only crawling along at a snail's pace through there.  I haven't read the stories, but perhaps there was a b-engine (pushing)?

Unbelievably, the bridge opened up again next day.  Traffic is reduced to just the leftmost lane, though.  This is my everyday commute to work, but it's the opposite direction from rush hour traffic.  Today I got off at 21st Street and just took Hillside the rest of the way.  But tomorrow I think I'll just try staying on the highway.  I go to work early enough, that I'm hoping it's fine even with only one lane.

Unrelated, northbound and southbound I-135 will be closed in basically the same spot during the weekends for a little while, as they prepare to open the new K-96 to I-135 ramp as part the north interchange project.  I tell you, it's not a good time to rely on I-135.  But hey, I do so twice a day every day...

Then, today, a cement truck overturned and spilled cement across 1000 feet of K-96, but fortunately not near I-135.

[kphoger]

A friend from church just sent me this link to a video about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH9yNi42erA

[rte66man]

Are there any updates on the suspect? Why on earth would you mess with yard tracks?

[kphoger]

Are there any updates on the suspect? Why on earth would you mess with yard tracks?

Not that I've heard.  All I've ever heard about the "suspect" is that there was that a switchman called in "a suspicious person" possibly tampering with something along the railroad beforehand.  I don't even know what the "something" might have been, nor what security tech is used at that freight yard (IR, CCTV, HD CCTV, ?).

[edwaleni]

WatchJRGo and 100PercentJake from YouTube were on the scene hours after the derail collided with the bridge

[wriddle082]

WatchJRGo and 100PercentJake from YouTube were on the scene hours after the derail collided with the bridge

Been following them both for years, as well as most of the rest of the Wichita automotive YouTubers, but these two are my favorite.

I would not have wanted to be underneath that bridge while all of that work was taking place.  I don't care how many other undamaged piers there were.

[edwaleni]

Just the Wichita You Tube Mafia.

Hoovies Garage
April's Garage (Hoovies Wife)
WatchJRGo
Elliot Alvis
100 PercentJake (who just stopped working for Hoovie)
and by extension:
Car Wizard, but he is up in Newton KS.

Periodically you will see Euroasian Bob (used car dealer) and Ninja at German Auto Werks.

Car Wizard is retiring and selling his shop. Thanks to Hoovie bringing his cars in to fix, "Weezerd" made more money off his fix it videos than off his shop.

Hoovie and wife just bought a townhouse in Scottsdale AZ to get closer to the Barrett-Jackson Auctions. He can't move away since he has 2 kids to raise.

I stopped watching April's Garage. Got tired of watching her husband (Hoovie) ogling her everytime.

[kphoger]

Northbound I-135 is now up to two lanes open instead of just one.