Ten years ago this month, a runaway freight train full of oil derailed and exploded into flames in the heart of Lac Megantic, Quebec near Maine's western border, killing 47 people.
Government officials in Canada vowed to prevent a future disaster by building a rail bypass around the center of town. But work on the project has yet to begin.
The bypass faces several obstacles. Forty-three residents whose land would be seized for the project are trying to block its construction in court. And an even larger number of residents complained at a hearing this spring that the new bypass design would include more curves, and more chances for derailments than the current track.
But Transport Canada says it remains fully committed to the rail bypass, which would run by many fewer homes and reduce the number of grade crossings. The project still needs regulatory approval from the Canadian Transportation Agency, which has indicated the application from track owner Central Maine and Quebec Railway Canada is incomplete.
An agency spokesman told Canadian press the company needs to provide information about the findings of a recent hydro-geology study, among other things.