Booneville, Iowa – The Iowa Interstate Railroad, LTD (IAIS) opened the new William J. Duggan Bridge in Booneville, IA to freight rail traffic on June 30, 2020. This new, state-of-the-art structure crosses the Raccoon River west of Des Moines, IA and replaces a 119-year-old through truss bridge. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) funded half of the project costs through a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant of $3.5 million. The project was completed in record-setting time and under budget.
“The William J. Duggan Bridge will ensure safe and efficient freight connections between IAIS customers and rail destinations across North America and around the world,” said IAIS President Joe Parsons. “Completion of this project is yet another step in our unending drive at IAIS to prioritize safety, resiliency, and reliability in everything we do.”
“This bridge is a fitting tribute to Bill Duggan’s ongoing lifetime of service to the industry in this country and around the world which continues to this day” said Henry Posner III, chairman of IAIS. “After the bankruptcy of our predecessor the Rock Island in 1980, the IAIS route was deemed unnecessary and nearly liquidated: in fact, parts of the railroad stood idle until 1984. Bill came to the Iowa Interstate from the Illinois Central in 1989, and was tasked with keeping the railroad running with very limited traffic and funding. The early years were tough, but we have evolved into today’s strong, stable, resilient route connecting Iowa and Illinois to the world because of the foundation-both physical and cultural- laid by Bill. It is especially appropriate that this bridge carry his name as our West End has historically been our lowest-density segment and was at one point a re-abandonment candidate.”
Bill Duggan served as IAIS’ VP-Engineering, then VP-Operations, from 1989 to 1999, and has since served as VP-Operations of IAIS’ parent Railroad Development Corp. (RDC), where his roles have included service as President of Ferrovias Guatemala and responsibility for passenger businesses in Germany.
IAIS, FRA, and US DOT successfully completed construction in under 17 months from the date of award. Fifty percent of funding for the William J. Duggan Bridge was awarded by FRA on February 8, 2019 with IAIS funding the remaining 50%. The William J. Duggan Bridge is 661′-6″ long and consists of eight 75′ steel beam spans set on nine cast-in-place concrete piers with two concrete bents supporting a pre-stressed concrete box beam. Unlike the antiquated predecessor structure, the William J. Duggan Bridge will support sustained 40-mph train speeds with modern 286,000-pound freight rail cars and no dimensional load limitations.
Project engineering was led by HDR, Inc. of Omaha, NE. Bridge general contractor was A.M. Cohron & Son, Inc. of Atlantic, IA. IAIS Chief Engineer Chad Lambi, PE and Assistant Chief Engineer Greg D. Mitchell, PE oversaw project construction for IAIS.

Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) has received renewed grant funding for its rail safety education efforts in 2020 from the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh, the rail safety group announced earlier this week.
The grant will continue and expand the support of rail safety projects and initiatives that the Posner Foundation helped to fund in 2019.
“The 2020 grant will allow us to expand our work at the national level and support our state programs across the country,” OLI Executive Director Rachel Maleh said in a press release, which did not mention the 2020 grant’s dollar amount.
Specifically, the 2020 funds will support the expanded distribution of an public service announcement (PSA) campaign aimed at reducing near-miss incidents with pedestrians near railroad tracks; supplement funding for state programs; and create a new discretionary fund to assist state programs with purchasing educational and promotional materials for their outreach efforts.
In 2019, the Posner Foundation donated $100,000 to OLI. The funds helped support the creation of media-related resources and distribution of a PSA about emergency notification system signs, as well as supplemented funding for state programs and provided support for national volunteer efforts.

For Immediate Release

Twin State Environmental has opened Raptor® Tank Cleaning Services, a Railcar Cleaning facility for tank cars and hopper cars located in Durant, Iowa on the Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) with connections to all US Class 1 carriers.  This new operation features the Raptor® Tank Cleaning System eliminating human confined space tank entry by incorporating automation and robotics to guarantee a superior clean.

Founder and Chief Technology Officer Scott Tinsman III stated, “the Raptor® was developed and engineered based on years of industry experience. It utilizes robotics and automation to ensure the complete removal of heel and build-up from hopper and tanker railcars.  This safe, economical and unique cleaning technology removes the need for anyone to enter a tank while it contains product. The Raptor® handles liquids, solids and sludge in all types of hazardous, non-hazardous and feed-stock materials including acid, asphalt, crude oil, vegetable oil, animal fats and tallow.”

With the ability to offer Kosher washes, Raptor® is strategically located in the Mid-West to service numerous customers including those following Kosher practices. Carrie Evans, vice president of sales and marketing for Iowa Interstate Railroad welcomes Twin State Environmental’s Raptor® Tank Cleaning Service cleaning operation to its diverse portfolio of existing customers on its line.  “This is a valuable service to many customers in the tank car industry and we are excited to have this ideally located option available,” said Evans.  

The Raptor® system can handle any amount of heel, even in excess of 10,000 pounds.  This new, safe and very efficient system minimizes cleaning time, maximizes shipment volume and reduces freight costs, changing railcar cleaning economics from a “have to” to a “want to” for many customers. 

“Our Raptor® Tank Cleaning System typically cleans a tank in hours allowing a railcar to return to service in days, not weeks,” stated Charles (Chip) Lee, Jr., Twin State Environmental President. 

Twin State Environmental also sells and installs Raptor® Tank Cleaning Systems and railcar cleaning equipment and engineered systems.  For more information, visit www.raptortank.com .

For additional information, contact Charles (Chip) Lee, Jr. at Clee@tsenv.com or 563-359-3624

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, September 21, 2018; Iowa Interstate Railroad, Ltd. announces the promotion of Joe Parsons from General Manager to President and CEO of the Iowa Interstate Railroad.

Joe Parsons joined Iowa Interstate in September of 2013 as Chief Operating Officer; he was promoted to General Manager in 2017. As President and CEO, Parsons is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the entire railroad, overseeing the transportation, engineering, and mechanical departments, as well as administration departments.

Prior to joining the Iowa Interstate Railroad, Parsons had over 10 years of railroad management experience at both Class I and short line railroads. Parsons began his railroad management career with Norfolk Southern in the Transportation department working in various locations. He eventually was promoted to Terminal Superintendent in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 2011, Parsons accepted the position of Assistant General Manager with the Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern Railroad and later served as that carrier’s General Manager.

IAIS Chairman Henry Posner III commented, “Joe’s performance as General Manager confirmed his dedication to safety, lifelong learning, and traffic growth”. Bob Pietrandrea, President of IAIS owner Railroad Development Corp. added, “Joe has proven himself as the natural successor for leadership of the IAIS management team”.

Parsons holds a Bachelor’s degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business.

Joe Parsons has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Joe began his employment with us on September 16, 2013 as the Chief Operating Officer. As of January 1 this year, Joe had been given the responsibility of overseeing the Engineering Department in addition to the overall management of the Transportation, Safety, Customer Service, Locomotive and Mechanical Departments.

When Joe joined IAIS in 2013, he had brought with him 10 years of railroad management experience in both Class 1 and short line railroading. His management experience began with the Norfolk Southern as Trainmaster in Dayton, Ohio and Columbia, South Carolina. Joe was subsequently promoted to Terminal Superintendent in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In May of 2011, Joe accepted the position of Assistant General Manager with the Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern Railroad and was subsequently promoted to General Manager at the same carrier. He was assuming the same role at the Dallas, Garland, & Northeastern Railroad before accepting our offer.

Joe received his Bachelor’s degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College and recently received his Master’s degree in the Executive MBA Program at the University of Iowa.