Union Pacific Starts Work on Train Tracks Before Notifying Carpinteria City Officials

CARPINTERIA, Calif. (KEYT) - In preparation for winter rains, the Union Pacific Railroad (UPR) is working on drainages along the train tracks in Carpinteria.

That should be welcomed, but the city says it was never told.

Last week, UPR began the project and it caught the eye of many citizens. Some wrote to city councilmembers asking 'what was going on?"

City Manager Nick Bobroff reported Monday, the project began without any advance notification to the city.

Since then, they have made contact with the work crew to get more details.

The effort is to create a safe rail corridor for freight and passenger trains.

Union Pacific says it is exempt from many of the normal state and local permits that come with these projects.

Concerns have been raised about the disruption of soil or sensitive areas. El Nino concerns are widespread across the county.

Recently Montecito had a town hall meeting to give information to residents.

Caltrans attended and said some of the drainages including Oak Creek and San Ysidro Creek have been dug out but they say the flow is undersized for a major series of storms in succession.

(More details, photos and video will be added here later today)

The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With the Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.