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Description
An old train tunnel that runs under highway 94 in the St. Charles/Weldon Springs area just outside of St. Louis.

This was part of a government branch line that connected the old Weldon Spring Ordnance Works to the main MKT line. In the mid 50s the Atomic Energy Commission takes over part of the land to build the Weldon Springs Uranium Field Materials Plant. When the plant was shut down during the 60s this branch was shuttered. The main line of the MKT continued to run until the mid 80s until being abandoned after severe flood damage. The US Army still maintains a 1,665 acre training facility within the former ordnance works.

Just a bit up the line is an old rail bridge pictured here [link]

Weldon Spring history

1941-45: The Army produces explosives at the 17,000-acre Weldon Spring Ordnance Works. Some of the land is later transferred to the state of Missouri and becomes the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area.

1955: Atomic Energy Commission takes 200 acres to build the Weldon Spring Uranium Feed Materials Plant.

1958: Processing of uranium for nuclear weapons begins with toxic materials stored in open-air lagoons along with TNT and wastes.

1963: Atomic Energy Commission begins disposal of uranium and radioactive materials in a quarry.

1967: Army takes over now-closed uranium plant to begin producing dangerous herbicides in what is called the Weldon Spring Chemical Plant.

1968: Decontamination at site begins.

1985: U.S. Department of Energy takes control of site and identifies cleanup priorities.

June 2001: Energy Department buries last of 1.5 million cubic yards of waste in a covered mound that fills 45 acres and reaches 75 feet in the air.

August 2002: Public celebration to officially open interpretive center and declare most of site clean. Ground-water cleanup is expected to take two more years.

For more info on the history of the site click on the link... [link]

Description
An old train tunnel that runs under highway 94 in the St. Charles/Weldon Springs area just outside of St. Louis.

This was part of a government branch line that connected the old Weldon Spring Ordnance Works to the main MKT line. In the mid 50s the Atomic Energy Commission takes over part of the land to build the Weldon Springs Uranium Field Materials Plant. When the plant was shut down during the 60s this branch was shuttered. The main line of the MKT continued to run until the mid 80s until being abandoned after severe flood damage. The US Army still maintains a 1,665 acre training facility within the former ordnance works.

Just a bit up the line is an old rail bridge pictured here [link]

Weldon Spring history

1941-45: The Army produces explosives at the 17,000-acre Weldon Spring Ordnance Works. Some of the land is later transferred to the state of Missouri and becomes the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area.

1955: Atomic Energy Commission takes 200 acres to build the Weldon Spring Uranium Feed Materials Plant.

1958: Processing of uranium for nuclear weapons begins with toxic materials stored in open-air lagoons along with TNT and wastes.

1963: Atomic Energy Commission begins disposal of uranium and radioactive materials in a quarry.

1967: Army takes over now-closed uranium plant to begin producing dangerous herbicides in what is called the Weldon Spring Chemical Plant.

1968: Decontamination at site begins.

1985: U.S. Department of Energy takes control of site and identifies cleanup priorities.

June 2001: Energy Department buries last of 1.5 million cubic yards of waste in a covered mound that fills 45 acres and reaches 75 feet in the air.

August 2002: Public celebration to officially open interpretive center and declare most of site clean. Ground-water cleanup is expected to take two more years.

For more info on the history of the site click on the link... [link]