Rail bypass plans moving slower than expected
News on progress of $20M railroad project has been scarce since May
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FACTS ABOUT BYPASS PLANS
Construction to refurbish the rail line between Victoria and Fort Bend counties began in March 2008.
The work was completed in June at a cost of about $1.5 million to $2 million a mile.
The ...
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FACTS ABOUT BYPASS PLANS
Construction to refurbish the rail line between Victoria and Fort Bend counties began in March 2008.
The work was completed in June at a cost of about $1.5 million to $2 million a mile.
The section of rail that runs along Business 59 in Victoria is considered temporary until the bypass is built.
The new line saves the company time and money by eliminating 67 miles of the 157-mile trip Kansas City Southern trains previously had to make over Union Pacific lines.
Kansas City Southern announced a year ago a $20 million rail bypass plan for Victoria and El Campo, but state and county officials said they've seen no activity recently.
"We were going to see what they were doing and continuously review it so they didn't go off in a direction we did not agree with," said Paul Frerich with the Texas Department of Transportation. "I have not heard anything on that in several months."
Victoria County Judge Don Pozzi said he can't remember any activity on the bypass project since the railroad began running trains on its refurbished line in about May.
But Doniele Kane, a spokeswoman for the railroad, wrote in an e-mail that progress is being made.
Kansas City Southern and its outside engineering firm, TranSystems, have completed a preliminary review of possible bypass routes along the U.S. 59 corridor around Victoria, she wrote. A specific route has not yet been selected yet.
"The final route will depend in large part on whether or not the needed right of way can be acquired from private property owners," Kane wrote. "Right-of-way acquisition is the most difficult hurdle for this project."
The company hopes to avoid having to condemn property to get the right of way, she wrote.
Kansas City Southern still needs to conduct an environmental review, develop a possible construction design, calculate right-of-way acquisition cost estimates and likely track construction costs. The company anticipates completing that work next year and using the information to determine the property acquisition requirements for route alignment, Kane wrote.
Kansas City Southern then plans to work with the Texas Department of Transportation and local officials to develop the right of way.
The rail company is exploring possible federal and state grant funding to assist with the right of way acquisition, given the recession and impact it has had on capital markets.
Warren Erdman, a Kansas City Southern executive vice president, said this time last year property acquisition for the bypass would probably begin in 2009.
But right-of-way acquisition will take more time and is more challenging than originally contemplated, Kane wrote. The project is still something Kansas City Southern will need and wants to pursue, she wrote.
"Obtaining the needed right of way and funding its acquisition is more difficult, given the economic recession and its impact on current capital markets," Kane wrote. "On the other hand, there are federal and state grant programs that exist now that did not exist a year ago."
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I still want to know as I posted the first time this issue came up. What gives the city the right to requst the bypass because they are cannot sleep. We have many kids and young adults that will have to cross this track every morning and evening. We will not have overpasses and or a new back roads built so we can get around. Again you built by the tracks and purchased property by the tracks before they were put out of service the last time. We built away from the tracks for a reason and would like to keep it that way. In short its ok for you to endanger my kids for your sleep! SHAME ON YOU.
November 11, 2009 at 2:17 p.m.Stingaree, in case you are not aware these blast are mandated by your Federal Government, not by the railroad. Also if you think they are not needed you should ride a train through any city during the nighttime hours and witness first hand how many people try to outrun the trains and how many collisions actually happen, you might change your mind. Take it from me an ex railroad employee.
November 5, 2009 at 9:11 a.m.This will be years. Meanwhile, I want to research the need for the blasts we get in the middle of the night.
November 5, 2009 at 7:53 a.m.These blasts occur between every crossing and lasts as long as it takes the train to travel through the city.
"The company hopes to avoid having to condemn property to get the right of way, she wrote."
WHAT????
So if this company wants your property and you don't want to sell all they have to do is condemn it!!!
Can someone explain this to me, what would they condemn it for??
November 5, 2009 at 7:05 a.m.