Point Defiance Bypass

Point Defiance Bypass

The Point Defiance Bypass, also known as the Lakeview Subdivision and the American Lake Line, is a 14.5-mile-long (23.3 km) rail line between the cities of DuPont and Tacoma in Pierce County, Washington.

The $181.1 million project began construction in 2015 as part of general improvements to the Amtrak Cascades corridor to eliminate the slow and winding route along the Puget Sound shoreline that included single-track tunnels. It was opened on December 18, 2017, but was shut down after the first Cascades train derailed at speed on a bridge over Interstate 5 while traveling southbound near DuPont.

Route

The Point Defiance Bypass begins at a junction with the BNSF mainline near the Nisqually River bridge, east of Lacey. The railway crosses over Interstate 5 and travels along the freeway's north side through DuPont and Joint Base Lewis–McChord (JBLM). In Lakewood, it stops at a train station and turns north, merging with the Tacoma Rail mainline. Trains continue north through South Tacoma station and follow South Tacoma Way as it makes a gradual turn to the east.[1] The bypass passes under State Route 16 and over Pacific Avenue while approaching Tacoma Dome Station. The railway travels over the Dome District area of Tacoma along a high trestle bridge and rejoins the BNSF mainline near the Puyallup River bridge.[2]

The project included the construction of five upgraded at-grade crossings and several grade-separated overpasses and underpasses along Interstate 5 in Dupont and near JBLM.[3][4][5]

History

A section of the Point Defiance Bypass in Lakewood, seen from Lakewood station

The Northern Pacific Railway Company established the Tacoma, Olympia & Grays Harbor Railroad in 1890 as a non-operating subsidiary. On May 1, 1891, the railroad completed a 24.7-mile-long (39.8 km) branch of the Northern Pacific between Lakeview (near modern Lakewood) and Lacey, passing through the Fort Lewis military base (which became a Joint Base in 2010).[6][7] A parallel route, along the coast of Puget Sound and around Point Defiance, was opened in 1914 for the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific railroads.[8] The inland route, part of the "Prairie Line" between Tacoma and Tenino, was used by occasional passenger trains until their cancellation by Norther Pacific in 1956. Long-distance freight service was phased out in 1973, a few years after Burlington Northern acquired Northern Pacific, and the Prairie Line was abandoned south of Yelm in 1986. The rest of the line was abandoned in 2003, with the only remaining service to Fort Lewis operating on the American Lake Branch.[9]

In the 1990s, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) identified the corridor as a potential alignment for a new Amtrak bypass of Point Defiance, which had capacity constraints and occasional closures due to mudslides.[10] BNSF, the successor to Burlington Northern, sold the railroad to Sound Transit in 2004 for $13.4 million, retaining a freight easement while Sound Transit operated commuter trains to Lakewood.[11][12] WSDOT published a long-range plan for the Cascades corridor in 2006, outlining a series of projects needed before reactivating passenger rail service on the line.[13] The projects, known collectively as the Point Defiance Bypass, included rebuilding of tracks and ties, a new signal system, improvements to at-grade crossings, and a $230 million bridge to replace a viaduct crossing Interstate 5 on a tight curve near the Nisqually River. The project ultimately did not include the Nisqually bridge, which became the site of the 2017 derailment.[14]

The Point Defiance Bypass project underwent environmental review in 2006 and started final design in 2007.[3] The $181 million project was funded through transportation packages previously approved by the state legislature, as well as the federal stimulus package of 2009.[3][15] Officials from Lakewood and DuPont voiced their concerns about safety and increased traffic congestion resulting from the bypass's construction, leading to concessions in the final design by the state.[16][17] Construction began in 2009 to prepare the Tacoma section for commuter rail service, which commenced in October 2012.[3][18] Construction on the Nisqually–Lakewood segment began in 2015 and was completed in late 2016. Testing of trains at full speeds of up to 79 miles per hour (127 km/h) was conducted from January 2017 to December 2017.[19]

2017 derailment

On December 18, 2017, during the inaugural southbound run of the Cascades on the Point Defiance Bypass, the train derailed while crossing Interstate 5 near the Nisqually River. Of the 84 people aboard (77 passengers and 7 employees) onboard, 3 were killed.[20]

After the accident, which closed the bypass to Amtrak service, WSDOT announced that it would not resume service until the full implementation of positive train control. Service is scheduled to restart in Spring 2019.[21]

Future

The bypass is planned to carry twelve daily Amtrak trains on the Cascades and Coast Starlight.[22] Sound Transit plans to extend Sounder commuter rail service to DuPont in 2036, with an additional station at Berkeley Street.[23]

See also

KML is not from Wikidata
  • Railways portal

References

  1. ↑ Champaco, Brent (October 27, 2008). "Lakewood gets ready for a lot more rail". The News Tribune. p. A1.
  2. ↑ "Point Defiance Bypass Project" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. July 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Pt. Defiance Bypass Project" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. March 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Construction to close I-5 south near Nisqually on July 9". The Olympian. July 2, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  5. ↑ Point Defiance Bypass Project: Finding of No Significant Impact (PDF) (Report). Federal Railroad Administration. February 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  6. ↑ Robertson, Donald B. (1986). Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History: Oregon, Washington. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Press. p. 292. ISBN 9780870043666. OCLC 13456066. Retrieved December 18, 2017 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ "Washington" (Map). Cram's Standard American Railway System Atlas of the World. George F. Cram Company. 1901. pp. 410–411. OCLC 58932862. Retrieved December 18, 2017 – via David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.
  8. ↑ Sailor, Craig (March 26, 2017). "Tacoma telegraph operators kept trains on track and on time". The News Tribune. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Prairie Line Terminal Section: Catalog of Character-Defining Features" (PDF). University of Washington, Tacoma. April 2011. pp. 15–16. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  10. ↑ Joseph, Turner (August 4, 1998). "Commuter rail may hasten new Amtrak route". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. p. A1.
  11. ↑ "Sound Transit takes ownership of Tacoma to Lakewood rail line" (Press release). Sound Transit. August 13, 2004. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Finance Docket No. 34747, Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority" (PDF). Surface Transportation Board. August 29, 2005. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  13. ↑ Tucker, Rob (November 15, 2006). "State plans new route for passenger trains". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. p. A1.
  14. ↑ Lindblom, Mike (January 2, 2018). "Straightening of curve at Amtrak derailment site in Dupont had not been state priority". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Amtrak Cascades one step closer to faster, more frequent service" (Press release). Washington State Department of Transportation. March 4, 2013. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  16. ↑ Champaco, Brent (October 20, 2009). "Bypass worries Lakewood". The News Tribune. p. A1.
  17. ↑ Champaco, Brent (April 27, 2010). "Dupont joins train fight". The News Tribune. p. A1.
  18. ↑ Doughton, Sandi (October 7, 2012). "Lakewood area celebrates arrival of Sounder service". The Seattle Times. p. B2. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  19. ↑ Lynn, Adam (January 17, 2017). "Look out for fast trains as Point Defiance Bypass tests begin". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  20. ↑ O'Sullivan, Joseph; Bush, Evan; Clarridge, Christine (December 18, 2017). "At least 3 dead after Amtrak train derails from bridge onto Interstate 5 near Olympia". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  21. ↑ Baker, Mike (December 21, 2017). "Washington state: No passenger trains on Amtrak derailment route until safety systems are in place". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  22. ↑ Sailor, Craig (December 8, 2017). "One of the last great Washington train rides is coming to an end". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Sounder Extension to DuPont" (PDF). Sound Transit. July 21, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.