Walbash
Contributing Member
I-40 shut down due to train derailment near NM-AZ line
Interstate 40 is shut down near the New Mexico-Arizona state line due to a train derailment around 13 miles west of Gallup.
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Griffin Rushton, Jonathan Fjeld | KOB
Updated: 1 hour ago
Published: April 26, 2024 - 3:17 PM
NEW MEXICO — Interstate 40 is shut down near the New Mexico-Arizona state line due to a train derailment around 13 miles west of Gallup.
Officials with the Apache County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona said a BNSF train derailed Friday. They said it happened south of I-40 near milepost 3 in New Mexico.
According to New Mexico State Police, the train was carrying gasoline and propane. Emergency crews are trying to mitigate the spread of the fire. No injuries have been reported.
KOB 4 received several videos showing a massive fireball coming from a train that appeared to derail near the state line.
Eastbound I-40 is closed on the Arizona side at milepost 357.
Westbound I-40 will be closed to all westbound traffic at milepost 126 and diverted onto State Road 6 South. According to NMSP, all commercial motor vehicles and non-local residents traveling west on I-40 are instructed to take I-25 south at Albuquerque to I-10 in Las Cruces to continue to travel west.
Local residents of Laguna, Acoma, Grants, and Gallup will be allowed to continue west past the road closure on I-40 with proof of local residency.
There’s no timeline on how long it will take to clean up – which means there could be traffic issues through the weekend.
The derailment comes a month after a BNSF train derailed in Socorro. That derailment spilled millions of pounds of corn.