TEMPE, Ariz. — Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.
Union Pacific Railroad will reimburse the City of Tempe $481,715 for expenses related to a train derailment in July of 2020.
City officials said the money will cover the cost of repairs, replacement of damaged city property, incident response costs, traffic control, environmental testing, and other related expenses.
RELATED: Video shows Tempe train derailment, bridge collapse. And one year later, the cause is still unknown.
UPR has spent millions of dollars to repair and replace portions of the railroad bridge over Tempe Town Lake. Repairs were also made to portions of Rio Salado Parkway and damage to Tempe Beach Park.
About the incident
At approximately 6 a.m. on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, a cargo train derailed on the historic Union Pacific train bridge that crosses Tempe Town Lake. Union Pacific owns the railroad bridge over Tempe Town Lake.
Crews from four area cities responded to help put out the ensuing fire and remove hazardous materials from the area.
City officials said there were 12 train cars affected by the incident. Two of them contained Cyclohexanone, a chemical used to make nylon, paint remover, wood stains and insecticides. None of these chemicals entered Town Lake, officials said.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has spent more than $100,000 in tests and determined that no additional cleanup is needed at this time under the rail bridge. Officials said precautionary testing will continue to ensure the lake is safe.
Historic Bridge
The railroad bridge was built in 1912 and began operations in 1915. It is part of a rail line that starts on the West Coast and goes as far east as Chicago and New Orleans. Portions of the damaged bridge were preserved and given to the Tempe History Museum.
Tempe does not own the railroad bridge. Since 1887, the federal government has had authority over the movement of passengers and property by rail as well as rail infrastructure.
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