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Hastings council approves $980,000 RAISE grant application to study South Hastings transportation barriers
Summary
The Hastings City Council voted 8–0 to authorize Mayor to submit a $980,000 RAISE grant application to study transportation improvements to better connect South Hastings across railroad and highway barriers. Staff said the grant would fund an 18‑month study with conceptual engineering and public engagement; it would not cover construction.
The Hastings City Council voted 8–0 to authorize the mayor to sign an application for a U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) grant seeking $980,000 to study transportation improvements in South Hastings.
City staff said the award, if received, would fund a study to identify options to improve crossings and connectivity where Burlington Northern railroad tracks and a highway divide the south side from the rest of the city. Staff emphasized the award would fund planning and design work only, not construction.
Lee (staff member) told the council the study would “look at ways to better connect South Hastings homes and businesses to the rest of the community so that the barriers of the railroad, Burlington Northern lines and the highway can be overcome by needed transportation infrastructure improvements.” Lee said the grant application is due Jan. 30 and that the city expects to learn whether it receives funding “sometime towards the June of this year.”
Lee said a consultant likely would not be onboarded until late in the year and estimated the study period at about 18 months, adding staff expects substantial public engagement and conceptual designs, traffic analysis and engineering data to be part of the work. “There will be conceptual designs of potential solutions. Also, engineering data and traffic analysis is done,” Lee said.
Council members pressed for clarity about the grant’s scope. Councilmember Huntley, who moved the resolution, and Councilmember Fong, who seconded it, both confirmed the request is for a study that could lead to later grant applications for design and construction. Lee said there would be no city match required for this application as presented.
Council discussion noted pedestrian safety as a primary concern, particularly for students crossing Burlington Northern tracks, and multiple members asked about faster, city-led interim measures; staff said available city funding for independent construction is limited and that federally funded construction would follow project selection and later funding stages.
The council passed Resolution No. 2025-03, authorizing the mayor to sign the RAISE application.
The grant would not itself build projects: it is intended to identify and prioritize potential projects that could be the basis for later funding and design work. The city will return to the council for decisions on any projects recommended by the study and for approvals of design or construction funding if and when those opportunities arise.
