Davenport, Iowa, rail crossings being repaired by Canadian Pacific

Canadian Pacific

Along the Davenport, Iowa, riverfront, severe flooding from the Mississippi River occurred in March 2019. Canadian Pacific has eight rail crossings along this area, and had to raise the line to enable trains to continue to moving through up to 21 feet of floodwater. The tracks were raised from six inches to three feet at different points along the line.

While this solved the problem for CP, the move cut off access to the riverfront from the rest of the downtown area. CP installed temporary crossings during the summer, but the Quad-City Times is reporting the railroad is building permanent roads.

CP is paying for the the construction, but the railroad would not reveal the amount of money required to complete the work. In addition to the roads, CP is also raising a segment the Mississippi River bike trail so riders will not have to deal with crossing bumps in the road as they journey along the trail.

Brian Schadt, the Davenport city engineer said this “was a negotiation with Canadian Pacific for a net gain/loss of zero crossings while improving the functionality of the crossing and maintaining the spirit of the Main Street Landing development of the riverfront.”

Regarding the bike trail, “We did not want bike path users to experience ‘up/down’ with each crossing,” said Nicole Gleason, public works director. She also pointed out that Canadian Pacific was not required to do the work on the bike trail.

More information is available online.