Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Metro COG presents multi-jurisdiction rail crossing study; no action requested
Summary
Metro COG and consultant HDR presented a multi-year Metro Rail Needs Study covering 15 locations, preferred alternatives (realignments and grade separations), engagement results, and options for West Fargo and Harwood; presenters said the study is on track for completion before year-end and the board was not asked to take action.
Ben Griffin, director of Metro COG, and HDR project manager Dan Bergeson presented the Metro COG Metro Rail Needs Study, describing work to evaluate existing conditions, identify potential improvements at 15 study locations, and recommend infrastructure enhancements to improve safety and support funding opportunities.
Griffin said BNSF provided local match funding and HDR led the technical work. Bergeson reviewed preferred alternatives at several locations, including a realignment near 40th Avenue and 93rd Street to reduce the number of adjacent crossings, and a long-term grade separation concept near 26th Street and West Fargo’s potential interchange. The consultants described engagement efforts (study review and stakeholder committees, pop-up events at the Fargo Dome and the Rourke Museum, and public meetings across jurisdictions) and said emergency-service access and project benefit magnitude scored highly in their multiple-account evaluation.
Board members asked questions about planning horizon and trade-offs. Bergeson described the West Metro Perimeter Roadway (referred to in discussion in connection with Harwood) as a very long-term option and said the study included the location mostly to put it on the county’s radar. He said the study is following a concurrent review process and projected it should be complete prior to the end of the year. No formal action, funding commitment, or specific project authorization was requested of the board during the presentation; a commissioner suggested the board could later “see the report” when completed.
The presentation noted one study location falls outside Fargo/West Fargo limits and that West Fargo’s ongoing study of the 26th Street corridor could connect to county facilities. Staff did not present a recommended county motion or request any immediate approvals during the meeting.
