Three representatives from Norfolk Southern Railway came to the Collegedale Commission meeting Monday night to give an update about the cleanup following the train derailment that happened in the city on Dec. 20. John Cardin, assistant regional manager of railway investigations, said the goal of completing the clean-up is the end of January. On Tuesday a contractor is scheduled to begin cutting up the rail cars. Following that will be another group of contractors to re-rail the locomotives onto the existing tracks in order to move them out of Collegedale. That is expected to take three and a half to four weeks, depending on the weather.
Mayor Morty Lloyd thanked Collegedale Police Chief Jack Sapp for the department’s extra patrols of the railroad to keep people safe. He said the accident has become the city’s “newest tourist attraction,” and everyone wants to come see it. A lot of people have been seen on the tracks, despite it being incredibly dangerous, said the mayor.
Special Agent Michael Frogg with Norfolk Southern Railroad Police, which is charged with the safety and security of the railroad, said that patrols from his agents have been stepped up in the effort to prevent trespassing with help from the Collegedale Police. He told the commissioners that the railroad appreciates the cooperation it has been getting from the city.
Robert Wood, assistant manager for hazardous materials, the department that handles all environmental cleanups for Norfolk Southern, said that the original estimate for lost diesel fuel from the lead locomotive was 1,500-2,000 gallons. He said as of Sunday, 1,065 gallons had been recovered with the use of about 36 bales of containment pads and 60 bales of containment booms. Some fuel had already reached the creek and he said the rainy weather had helped flush that downstream. Piles of dirt being used in the work will be taken away this week but precautionary booms will remain for a while. Removal of the fuel from the creek was helped because of quick response time and because it is not soluble in water and can be seen, he said.
Contamination that is now in the soil underneath the locomotives cannot be addressed until they are removed. Platforms will need to be built to get them onto the existing tracks. Then once the work is finished the temporary platforms and roads will have to be removed. That work should be finished in around a month, but a lot of the timing will depend on the weather, he said.
Norfolk Southern’s response to the derailment was praised by the mayor and commissioners for how quickly gravel roads had been constructed to begin the removal of the wreckage, starting the environmental cleanup and getting the city back to normal operations.
On Monday night, the city received an excellent audit report for 2022 that the commissioners approved. It showed that across the board, Collegedale’s revenues had increased over expenses for the year and assets increased in the general fund, the sewer and airport funds and the pension plan. Additionally, there were no findings in the audits for both 2021 or 2022. Regarding the city’s current financial status, Mayor Lloyd said it was a good time to become mayor.
During the citizens' opportunity to speak to the commissioners, Executive Director of the Collegedale Tomorrow Foundation David Barto thanked Commissioner Katie Lamb for the eight years she served as mayor for the city. One of her legacies, he said, was in the development of standards for landscaping, buildings and signs throughout the city. He said that Collegedale established standards even before it had city planners.
Mayor Lamb and Mr. Barto sat around a dining room table and took files they liked from various cities and typed an 80-page document. Those standards have saved Collegedale from bad development such as metal buildings, billboards and ensured attractive landscaping, he said. The board of Collegedale Tomorrow, which has a goal of improving the area, also thanks her, he said.
The next Collegedale Commission meeting has been moved from Monday, Jan. 16, to Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 6 p.m. because of the Martin Luther King holiday.