SHEBOYGAN FALLS, WI (WHBL) - Anyone who has traveled in Sheboygan Falls in recent weeks have noticed plenty of work going on restoring a former rail line into service. That work will be ending soon, and that means trains will be back on the line between Plymouth and Kohler before the end of the year.
Project Manager Jeff Risch tells WHBL News work by Wisconsin and Southern to open the line up after it was shut down nearly a decade ago began shortly after they acquired the rights for it in 2007. This included clearing out the corridor of brush in 2011, digging out the existing line in 2014, and putting in entirely new track for most of the line this year.
"So everything from the gravel base on up through the new ties and rail are all new on the line," says Risch.
As for where work on the rail line stands now, a good chunk is complete west of Sheboygan Falls. "Some of the work from Plymouth all the way through County TT, just on the west side of Sheboygan Falls, that actually will be complete in the first week of November," says Risch. "Work going through the end of the project, up in through Kohler, that will be closer to the end of November when that will be complete."
The completion of the line west of Sheboygan Falls will help out the line's main customer - Bemis. Bemis is expected to start using it right away to lower its need for semi trucks to transport its products.
As for what motorists, bicyclists and walkers may expect if they come across a train crossing the road, Risch says train lengths will vary depending on what business is using it. He does expect them to be between 10 and 20 cars long, so waiting time at crossings should be no more than a few minutes.