BOULDER, Colo. – A train derailed just north of Arapahoe Avenue between 55th Street and 63rd Street in Boulder Tuesday afternoon, but initial concerns over hazardous material being involved were unfounded, as the train spilled only plastic beads.
The Boulder Police Department said at 3:20 p.m. that hazardous materials crews were en route to the scene of the derailment, but said minutes later it did not know if the train was carrying hazardous materials.
But at 4:04 p.m., the Boulder Police Department said the materials that spilled out of the train "do not appear to be hazardous."
And at 4:38 p.m., the department said that the train car that spilled materials had been filled with plastic beads that weren't hazardous.
55th is closed between Valmont and Arapahoe; 63rd is closed from Arapahoe to Stazio. But Arapahoe Avenue is completely open, according to police.
A BNSF Railway spokesman confirmed that the train that derailed was a BNSF train.
Officers evacuated businesses within 100 yards of the derailment, but those evacuations were being lifted by 4:45 because it was determined no hazardous materials were spilled in the derailment, police said.
There are several businesses in the area, including Fisher Honda, the Boulder Jewish Community Center and Upslope Brewing, among others.