Not certain who authorized the closure. Don't see anything on the STB about it, but with
WSDOT that isn't unusual. Welded rail ends just north of Oakesdale with spots of welded on
remaining line. WSDOT has been putting ties in most of the line over the years, just not enough. CW branch needs steel badly and has heavy traffic and WSDOT seems to be ignoring the need. WSDOT has installed several new steel bridges between McCoy and Marshall over the last two years, but they closed the line for 6 months++ at a time to do it and shippers had to go elsewhere and seemed to be staying away. Trucks offer long term contracts during such times to keep the traffic. SS&P not trying to hard to get business back, seems content to just do
McCoy unit trains and car storage.