by Jerry Schneider

The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay has decided to start freight traffic between Coos Bay and Eugene in the first week of October this year.
They issued a press release reminding people that the rail is private property, rail traffic can be dangerous and that any maintenance underway would continue.
I’m concerned.
Since we broke the story of the poor condition of the Tenmile Lake trestle and speculated on the shape of others, (issue 93, June 22, 2011), we have yet to see any sign of repair or inspection in our area.
Nor have the concerned citizens who tipped us off and have been watching and hoping for signs of repair.
Granted, the Port has told us the system was designed to last another 10-20 years, but that is a very speculative figure and it is obvious, even to a layperson, that the prevalent corrosion makes that statement very ‘iffy’ indeed.
The trestle has been subjected to very little stress since train traffic was discontinued. The traffic since has been mostly on foot or by inspection and cleanup vehicles, nothing approaching the tremendous stresses a train would provide.
I remember as a Boy Scout hiking along tracks and witnessing the flexing and rumbling of the rail bed. The passage feels almost like an earthquake as the vibrations and rumbling filled my body even twenty or more feet away from the tracks.
While fishing, I’ve seen how trestles flex and shake during the passage. The trestles I observed nearly 50 years ago were constructed of heavy timber with all structural members intact and well maintained, unlike the corroded steel we have crossing our lakes.
I see a disaster waiting to happen.
I’ve seen the aftermath of a derailment, the mess of ruptured cars and tangled metal and timber. And that was on regular road beds, not trestles. Even without the complications of a lake, those accidents took days and massive equipment to restore rail traffic and complete the cleanup.
As a former environmental specialist of 16 years, I am well versed in the difficulty of spill cleanup, especially fuels and hazardous substances that impact water sources.
Contamination is difficult to contain and extremely hard to mitigate. People are still finding and reporting oil in the water and soils after the Valdez disaster.
Granted, nothing that could happen here would be of that magnitude, (we hope) but the health of Tenmile is already problematic and any kind of ‘accident’ could be the tipping point.
I put accident in quotes because I feel that any event caused by poor maintenance or lack of foresight are not accidents, but factors of negligence and mismanagement.
Lakeside relies on Tenmile. Without the Lake there’d be no draw, no incentive for people to come contribute to our economy. No lake, no Lakeside.
Last week I wrote about expectations. We expect our politicians and neighbor land owners (the Port) to be part of the stewardship of our lakes, to care for more than the immediate dollar and to pay attention to any potential impact.
The first step is to recognize the threat that Tenmile citizens have reported.
Now it is up to the Port to follow through. And, It is up to us to make them accountable. Contact your commissioners and let them know how you feel. Start a revolution, protect our lake.