BELLE PLAINE, Kan. — More than a century after the arrival of the railroads to the Flint Hills of Kansas, a large-scale track expansion is tearing up a scenic stretch in the last remaining tallgrass prairie left in the nation.
The BNSF Railway is laying nearly 42-miles of track from Ellinor to El Dorado. The railroad says the work is occurring along its right-of-way and 19 parcels of land it is acquiring. Documents show the project involves eight wetland fills, realignment of streams at three locations, seven new bridges and 36 culvert extensions.
No environmental impact study was required.
