Marquette Rail Erosion Site
The Pere Marquette Watershed Council has been working with Marquette Rail LLC to repair an eroding bank near the railroad bridge over the Pere Marquette River just north of 72ndStreet and adjacent to the Flint Rainbow Club in Lake County. The railroad tracks, hidden by the foliage, are located at the top of the river bank in the accompanying photo. While bank erosion is always a concern, in this case the threat is that a catastrophic event, such as a flood or vibration-induced sloughing of the man-made earthen approach to the bridge, would cause a train to derail and send tanker cars of chemicals into the river. As the Council believed this was an extreme potential hazard to the river corridor, PMWC hired a Civil Engineer to review the extent of the eroding site and the resulting hazards. His report reinforced our original concerns. PMWC, through personal meetings and correspondence, has encouraged Marquette Rail personnel to work towards a solution that is environmentally responsible and aesthetically appropriate for a wild and scenic river.
Marquette Rail responded summer of 2011 that no work is planned for this site at this time. PMWC continues to press for work to be completed. In the interim PMWC is beginning a scheduled photographic summary and collection of data at the site to create a record of future events.