New Albany, CSXT reach agreement over major Grant Line project
It won’t include an
overpass, but New Albany, Ind., is aspiring to begin improving a portion of
Grant Line Road next year, The Evening News and Tribune reports. The Board of
Public Works and Safety approved a formal agreement with CSX Transportation,
which owns the railroad tracks that cross Grant Line Road near the General
Mills-Pillsbury plant entrance.
The deal basically confirms
that CSXT can begin forming design plans to improve the railroad crossing, with
the city agreeing to pay the planning and construction costs. Due to safety
concerns, CSXT rules that "no one can touch their facilities" except their
crews, said John Rosenbarger, director of public facilities projects for New
Albany.
The standard agreement "gives
[CSXT] the green light to do whatever engineering work they need to do and to
coordinate with our road engineers," Rosenbarger said.
Improving the railroad
crossing surface and installing new gates and flashers are just some of the
upgrades slated for Grant Line Road. The city will be using a portion of the
$6.125 million it received from the state for taking over 4.5 miles of Ind. 111
in April to foot construction projects from Mount Tabor Road to McDonald Lane
along Grant Line Road. Rosenbarger said that will include adding a lane near
University Woods Drive along with the installation of sidewalks and pedways
along the route.
An August preliminary
design submitted to the board of works called for Grant Line Road to be
stretched to five lanes from Mount Tabor Road inbound to the railroad tracks. The
Indiana Department of Transportation had pegged Grant Line Road for a similar
project until it relinquished control of a portion of the thoroughfare to New
Albany.
The state had originally
planned a 120-foot overpass to extend over the railroad tracks, but had
scrapped that idea prior to transferring the road to the city’s domain.
Mayor Doug England said in
a phone interview he wasn’t supportive of the state’s overpass idea, describing
it as a "monstrous project for the community."
"I think the overpass would
have been horrendous with the businesses it would have knocked out," he said.
The city will have access
to the right-of-way the state purchased for improvements along the route,
England said. Rosenbarger said additional property will likely have to be
purchased, but the city’s project will not have the impact on businesses the
overpass would have created.
England said the
construction would hopefully alleviate some of the traffic flow problems in
that section of Grant Line Road. The city is also working on extending Reas
Lane to connect its industrial parks in the corridor as a way to keep much of
the heavy truck traffic off of the busy thoroughfare.
Rosenbarger said the city
hopes to have design completed by the end of 2010 or early next year, with work
to begin next construction season.