Union Pacific to shut down western Oregon rail traffic for bridge replacement

Union Pacific will replace a bridge on Sunday.

David C. Lester

Union Pacific will replace a bridge on its western Oregon line on Sunday.

Union Pacific is scheduled to shut down its line in the mid-Willamette Valley in Oregon on Sunday to replace a trestle adjacent to Waverly Lake, according to the Corvallis Gazette-Times.

According to the Gazette-Times, Bob Melbo, a state rail planner for the Oregon Department of Transportation, said the trestle replacement will involve removing a wooden structure over Cox Creek and replacing it with a bridge made of compressed concrete and steel.

At 7:30 a.m., this line will be closed, and remain closed for approximately 20 hours. Amtrak’s Cascades train, leaving Albany at 6:11 a.m., will be the last train to cross this bridge. During the line’s outage, Amtrak will arrange for buses to carry passengers between Eugene and Portland. On Sunday morning, Amtrak’s Coast Starlight, which runs from Los Angeles to Seattle, will end its northbound journey in Klamath falls, and the southbound train will end its trip in Portland Sunday afternoon. Amtrak will provide bus service so passengers can continue their journeys north or south.

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