11. Minneapolis
St.Paul
Mankato
Adams
Sheboygan
Bill
Mason
City Milwaukee
Le Mars Janesville
Kenosha
Sioux City
S.Morrill W.Chicago
Chicago
Granger Aurora
Mo Valley
Joliet
Green Grand Council Des Moines
River Island Bluffs
North Lincoln S.Pekin
Platte Falls City
Ft.
Madison
Woodland Jct
Kansas
Provo Bond Denver City Quincy
Findlay Jct.
Marysville Springfield
Helper Sharon
Springs Topeka
St. Salem
Salina
Grand Louis
Jct.
Paola Jefferson
Herington City
Hutchinson
Gorham
Poplar Bluff
Dexter
Terminal Areas Dalhart
Line
11
12. Traffic to/from major West Coast ports crosses the Basin
Traffic to/from Mexican crossings traverse the Basin
Seattle
Eastport
Portland
Duluth
Twin Cities
Chicago
Omaha
Oakland SLC
Denver KC
St. Louis
LA Memphis
Calexico Dallas
Port access
New
Nogales El Paso Orleans Border
crossings
Houston
Eagle Pass
Laredo
Brownsville
12
13. Priorities:
1. Protect the “Red X”
2. Protect Missouri line
3. Protect Omaha to Kansas City Minneapolis
St.Paul
Mankato
Adams
Sheboygan
Bill
Mason
City Milwaukee
Le Mars Janesville
Kenosha
Sioux City
S.Morrill W.Chicago
Chicago
Granger Aurora
Mo Valley
Joliet
Green Grand Council Des Moines
River Island Bluffs
North Lincoln S.Pekin
Platte Falls City
Ft.
Madison
Woodland Jct
Kansas
Provo Bond Denver City Quincy
Findlay Jct.
Marysville Springfield
Helper Sharon
Springs Topeka
St. Salem
Salina
Grand Louis
Jct.
Paola Jefferson
Herington City
Hutchinson
Gorham
Poplar Bluff
Dexter
Terminal Areas Dalhart
13
14. Missouri River Basin
Do we need to raise the track and if so, HOW MUCH?
• Army Corp model
~Showed river elevation based on max release plus rain fall
~Inundation Maps
~River cross sections
• Railroad elevation data
~Precision Measurement Vehicle data (+/- 3-4 feet)
~Survey key locations along route
14
15. Yes, we need to raise the track. Now what?
• Profile Sheets
~Showing existing grade
~High water level
~Planned track raise
~Bridge work
• Surveyors
~Stake track for planned raise
• Field Forces work the plan
~…while keeping the track open for rail traffic
15
16. Other Tools Used:
• Aerial Photos
• Google Earth
• NOAA website (River Gages)
• Local Websites (Atchison River Bridge)
• Weather Forecasting (Inflow of Rivers/Streams)
• Army Corps of Engineers daily conference call
• Regional Army Corps locations (Omaha, Kansas
City)
16
17. Blair Sub
• Blair, Omaha, Sioux City Subdivision
1940-52 levee system
– Length of track to raise
– Blair to Mo Valley 11 miles
– Council Bluffs to Mo Valley 19 miles
– Raise Average = 2.88 ft, max. = 6 ft
– Raised crossings = 11 Public & 2 Private
– Raised turnouts = 32 Missouri Valley
– Additional 48” culverts = 6
– Bridges raised = 5
Blair Sub
– Aggregate delivered = 1884 Carloads
17
18. Council Bluffs and Missouri Valley
– Losing the main line through Iowa was not an option
– Raised track height through CB federal levee in
close coordination with City of Council Bluffs and
Corps of Engineers
– Water levels did not reach Corps projections but UP
would have been under water north of CB if we had
not raised the track
– Sandbagged Missouri Valley’s water treatment plant
and swimming pool/water park Missouri Valley
– Coordinated street closures with City of Missouri
Valley
Blair Sub
– Readily available to City officials to voice concerns
18
21. Missouri Valley yard tracks
(foreground) and through
tracks (rear). Note elevation
difference.
Missouri Valley, Canal Street
(note valley between tracks)
21
22. Borden Road private crossing
Joslin Ave was underwater
(Private vehicles used UP ROW)
Missouri Valley, 6th Street (Hwy
L20) Alternate I-29 route
22
26. Atchison to Leavenworth, Kansas
• Preliminary review showed some areas could be 6-9
feet under water.
• Decision to monitor and provide a 48hr countdown
to take the sub out of service.
• With Corps model not having the full impact on
mainline, we decided to do what we could to keep
the Kansas and Missouri lines open as long as
possible.
26
27. Falls City Sub MP 313 – MP 320
Non federal levees
Federal levee
27
28. Fort Leavenworth levee after
main track raise of 18”+/-
Gage reading:
Atchison……….29.3
Leavenworth…..24.9
FALLS CITY SUB MP 313.9
6/23/2011
28
29. Fort Leavenworth levee after
non federal levee over topped
or failed to the north.
Gage reading:
Atchison……….30.3
Leavenworth…..26.25
UP sandbags on siding
FALLS CITY SUB MP 313.9
6/28/2011
29
30. Fort Leavenworth levee after
sandbags failed on siding.
Gage reading:
Atchison……….31.0
Leavenworth…..28.0
FALLS CITY SUB MP 313.9
6/29/2011
30
31. Fort Leavenworth levee
24 hrs after breach.
Gage reading:
Atchison……….30.9
Leavenworth…..30.0
FALLS CITY SUB MP 313.9
6/30/2011
31
32. Fort Leavenworth levee
Gage reading:
Atchison……….30.5
Leavenworth…..30.2
FALLS CITY SUB MP 313.9
7/3/2011
32
33. Fort Leavenworth levee from
access road looking east.
Gage reading:
Atchison……….30.3
Leavenworth…..30.0
• Falls City Subdivision (Omaha to KC)
– Water rose 3 feet in one hour after non-federal levee failure
– Reached Corps inundation predictions after levee failure
– Total miles raised = 26.62 miles plus 2 miles of sidings
– Raise average= 1.4 ft, Max. = 4.55 ft
– Raised crossings. = 3 Public & 10 Private
– Bridges raised = 4
– Aggregate delivered
FALLS CITY SUB MP 313.9 = 1,341 Carloads
7/7/2011
33
34. River Sub, Kansas City to Jefferson City, MO
Shut down for a month
34
35. River sub Bridge 240.45
BRIDGE CONSTRUCTED IN 2007
(4)PCB-119 [SIMN]
Gage reading 6/30/2008:
Napoleon………(not available)
Waverly…….…..20.5
35
36. AFTER LEVEE BREACH NEAR MP
241.0.
THIS LEVEE IS NOT ON FED OR
NON FED LIST (FARMER LEVEE)
Gage reading:
Napoleon………27.3
Waverly…….…..29.5
RIVER SUB MP 240.45
7/3/2011
36
37. LEVEE BREACH NEAR MP 241.0.
THIS LEVEE IS NOT ON FED OR
NON FED LIST (FARMER LEVEE)
Gage reading:
Napoleon……….27.3
Waverly…….…..29.5
RIVER SUB MP 240.45
7/3/2011
37
38. LEVEE BREACH NEAR MP 241.0.
THIS LEVEE IS NOT ON FED OR
NON FED LIST (FARMER LEVEE)
Gage reading:
Napoleon……….27.0 BR 240.45
Waverly…….…..29.9
RIVER SUB MP 239.5 TO MP242.0
7/5/2011
38
39. LEVEE BREACH NEAR MP 241.0.
THIS LEVEE IS NOT ON FED OR
NON FED LIST (FARMER LEVEE)
BR 240.45
RIVER SUB MP 239.5 TO MP242.0
7/5/2011
39
40. LEVEE BREACH NEAR MP 241.0.
THIS LEVEE IS NOT ON FED OR
NON FED LIST (FARMER LEVEE)
• River Subdivision
BR 240.45
– Total miles raised = 14.4 miles plusTOP OFof
16” +/- OVER
1 mile RAIL
sidings
– Aggregate delivered = 619 Carloads
• Jefferson
RIVER SUB MP 239.5 TO MP243.0 City Subdivision
7/5/2011 – Total miles raised = 14.74
40 – Aggregate delivered = 276 Carloads
41. Scope of the Work
• Estimated cost: $50 million, including both lost revenue
and repairs
• Flood desk staffed 24-7 from June through August and
extra dispatching shifts for flooded areas
• 74 mile of mainline track raised as much as 6 feet
• 3 miles of siding track raised
• 9 bridges raised and cleared
• 458,000 tons (4,800 rail cars) of ballast, rip-rap and other
stabilizing material
• Six dozen pieces of specialized equipment
• 90 percent customer satisfaction rating in July
• NO injuries or incidents!
41
42. Key Takeaways
• We had time to plan and react
• Years of investment in infrastructure and surge
resources (locomotives, crews) paid off
• Collaboration with US Army Corps of Engineers
resulted in benefits for all
• There are LEVEES and there are “levees”
• Lessons learned for the future about staging
resources for weather emergencies
• Improved communication with customers about
anticipated traffic problems and proposed solutions
42
Editor's Notes
Spent the most time and money on the transcon route.Greatest risk – loss of our primary routeHighest likelihood of success – the others were almost certain to flood.We would have been underwater north of CB without the work but overall the predictions were far more dire than reality.One significant reason – assumption and supposition at work here – the presence of retired levees. Experts tell me that the Corps model did not include these retired levees because the condition could not be predicted. However, retired Corps employee who lived in the potential flood zone, patrolled the levees and alerted authorities to potential failures. Prevented flooding from the north that had been predicted.We learned the hard way about non-federal levees in Kansas and Missouri.
