Traffic resumes on Greenfield Ave. after derailment in West Allis

Jesse Garza
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Traffic has resumed on a stretch of W. Greenfield Ave. in West Allis that was closed after a train derailment, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

The stretch between S. 104th and S. 106th streets was closed in both directions Thursday and earlier Friday as workers cleaned up the scene of the derailment of a Union Pacific train, Deputy Police Chief Robert Fletcher said earlier.

The derailment happened 30 cars back from the two locomotives in the front. The mile-and-a-half long train had a total of 146 cars, and 20 of them derailed, Espinoza said.

Two train crew members were in the front of the train but no one was injured.

The railroad has been working closely with law enforcement to figure out what made the train derail, Raquel Espinoza, the corporate communications director at the railroad, said.

"We inspect the tracks regularly," Espinoza said. "But we're exploring what contributed to it (derailment) and apologize to the community."

Along with the road closures, the derailment knocked out power to about 1,000 We Energies customers.

Work crews restored power to all customers affected by 10:30 p.m., about four hours after the derailment knocked down a power line near S. 105th st. and W. Greenfield Ave, We Energies spokesman Brian Manthey said.