Railway cancels protest to Norman, Okla., plan


A railroad company's objections to the design of the Robinson Street crossing underpass in Norman, Okla., have been withdrawn, city officials say, according to local media. Sticking to the original design means the city will experience no delay in building the underpass and can stick to its original budget of about $25 million, Public Works Director Shawn O'Leary said.  

BNSF representatives told
the city "they are committed to working with Norman and their consulting
engineers on the underpass project," O’Leary said. O’Leary had reported to the
city council Sept. 9 that railroad officials were mandating design changes that
would increase the underpass construction cost by about $1.4 million and would
delay its completion by at least three months. The modifications in design were
for a temporary track called a "shoofly" that will be built so trains can
continue to run while the underpass is being built.

The modifications to the
shoofly were so trains could travel 55 mph through the construction zone rather
than the 40 mph originally agreed upon, O’Leary said.

City officials traveled
to Kansas City, Mo., to meet with railroad officials to protest
the changes, which would cost the city more money. They reported back to
council members that the meeting didn’t go well.

The turnaround in the
company’s position "is great news for Norman," Mayor Cindy
Rosenthal said. "It
emphasizes the effectiveness of the working partnership between the city and
BNSF. We appreciate their reconsideration of their most recent position on this
matter."

A bid letting for the $25-million
project will be in January. Construction should begin by March and take about
18 months to complete, O’Leary said.