Union Pacific Railroad laying new tracks in response to ‘mud-pot’ geyser
NILAND — Workers with Union Pacific Railroad this week are finishing up a “shoo-fly” track about 5 miles northwest of Niland designed to function as a backup if the existing mainline is swallowed up by a nearby roving “mudpot” geyser.
A shoo-fly track is a temporary track used to avoid an obstacle that blocks movement on the normal track section, according to UPRR.
This mud-pot geyser, which also is threatening State Route 111, is one of about 33 mud pots and socalled “mud volcanoes” located in an area immediately east of the southeastern-most portion of the Salton Sea that sits atop the terminus area of the San Andreas Fault.
Construction of the shoofly — which is located west of the existing dual line tracks — began Aug. 1, Justin Jacobs, UPRR spokesperson, told Imperial Valley Press over the phone Monday.
“We are building that in case [the mud pot] damages the current main line that is there, Jacobs said. “If that happens, then we will utilize that track. Right now, we are waiting to see what nature does.”
During construction passersby may see large equipment and trucks in the area.
“We realize this is an inconvenience and apologize for this interruption,” Jacobs said in a press release issued Monday. “You will hear construction activities, equipment and vehicles. Construction equipment and vehicles are equipped with back up alarms so you will also hear these sounds.”
Natural phenomenon
Mud pots and mud volcanoes are geothermal features produced when water or gas is forced upward through soil and sediments, according to Seismological Society of America. At the Salton Sea, a shallow magma body causes carbon dioxide to form in the soil, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earthquake Science Center in Pasadena.
The mud pot threatening the transportation infrastructure has been active and moving since 1953, according to Imperial County officials, and now lies about 160 feet east of existing dual Union Pacific Railroad tracks and 210 feet east of SR-111, which may both be in danger of being damaged by the natural phenomenon.
To mitigate damage to the tracks at the current distance, sheet piles have been placed between the geyser and the tracks. The sheet piles may be effective at the current distance, but this tactic may not prevent damage to the tracks should the geyser continue moving closer.
“They have driven a bunch of piles before the track and then the highway, so that way, it is redirecting the flow of the underground geyser,” Jacobs said. “That seems to be working at the moment. Our hope is that it continues to work.”
If those measures prove unsuccessful, the shoo-fly will be in place to allow the continued movement of cargo trains along the route, Jacobs said.
“Obviously, that is a vital freight route,” he said. “If the current track that is there is impacted, there will need to be something in place as an alternative. We are trying to stay ahead of that. We have a crew and team out there daily monitoring the situation and what all is going on.”
Major arteries
The dual rail line is essential to the movement of goods into and out of Imperial County, while SR-111 is one of only two main highways available for north-south transportation around the Salton Sea.
Between about 10 and 30 cargo-laden trains pass along that portion of UPRR each day, Jacobs said.
“It is a vital freight route,” he said, adding that virtually every type of good or raw material imaginable is transported along the line. “Anything that is packaged according to U.S. Department of Transportation standards, we haul. It could be anything from silverware, to a kitchen table to the TV that is in your home all the way to a vehicle or grain and anything in between.”
Information about how long the shoo-fly will be was unavailable before press time Monday.
“We build these along our network … and they can be small or they can be large and long,” Jacobs said. “I am not exactly sure what it is in this case.”
Group effort
UPRR is working in tandem with Imperial County officials to tackle this threat to infrastructure, Jacobs said.
“We are staying tied in with the county, and their folks have been working this thing at least the last month or so. It is a joint effort.”
During their regular meeting on Aug. 7, the Imperial County Board of Directors voted 4 to 0 — Michael W. Kelley, District 3 supervisor, was absent — to extend a local state of emergency to address the threat to both the railroad and the highway.
The extension allows for expedited emergency repair work to continue around the mud-pot geyser.
A local state of emergency was declared originally by the board during its June 26 meeting. Such a declaration can be made when there is an existence, or threatened existence, of a public calamity — in this case one that threatens major critical infrastructure.
Mitigation efforts may need to be paid for out of the Imperial County General Fund, but an estimate is not available on how much money may be required. More research in coordination with Union Pacific and Caltrans will be needed before the full scope of necessary mitigation efforts, and the associated costs, are determined.