MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - Drivers get ready; traffic delays are on the way. That's the word from the city engineering department as Norfolk Southern railroad works to fix up what a derailed train left behind.
There are still questions regarding what caused the derailment as the investigation continues.
In the meantime, repairs from the derailment will mean traffic delays for drivers that will last for weeks. This comes after Norfolk Southern claimed it was almost done fixing lights and gates.
As if traffic in East Memphis wasn't bad enough, drivers who frequent Park, Poplar and several side streets in between can expect headaches galore as repairs are made.
“I think I'll just stay in Germantown till they finish the work,” Mary Robinson said.
Initially, work began on four intersections along Poplar to repair damaged lights and gates. Now the railroad will be working on six intersections from Colonial to Estate Drive. Their plan is to repair broken tracks spanning a mile long stretch along the busiest roadway in the Mid-South.
“This is the main corridor of Memphis, Poplar Avenue, so it's going to cause a lot of hardship,” Robinson said.
"I've never seen a derailment, just in the movies so it's pretty neat," Andy Schelb said as he surveyed the wreckage shortly after the accident early Sunday, February 5.
Norfolk Southern has yet to figure out what caused the train with 19 cars to derail just before 6:00am that morning. The company said the mysterious mishap which temporarily shutdown traffic was "highly unusual." It also claims a derailment like this has never happened before.
Even so, the fact there's no explanation for what happened is unsettling for nearby business owners.
“We've been on the tracks 27 years and this is the first time something like this happened. We are concerned about it - we'd like to know what happened, what caused the train to come off. Praise His name it didn't catch the building, it was beyond here,” said the owner of A-1 Key Shop, Steve Bishop.
Norfolk Southern would not say whether those damaged tracks could have been the cause or the result of the derailment. The company is building a new transportation facility that would ease traffic on the rail line through Memphis. Right now 21 trains travel through the city every day. The facility should be complete this fall.
