BNSF seeks county sign‑off to remove two advance warning lights at Bench Road crossing

Ty Zinda, a signal supervisor with BNSF Railway, told Treasure County commissioners that BNSF has upgraded crossings and requests permission to remove two small advance warning LED lights adjacent to the Bench Road crossing while leaving the regulatory signs in place. Zinda said BNSF has been maintaining the lights for decades but the new crossing equipment no longer requires county power: "We don't power them anymore ... we just provide a dry contact," he said.

Zinda asked for a signed permission email or form authorizing BNSF to take the two pre‑warning lights down; commissioners agreed to provide written permission and to coordinate a diagnostic walk‑through, either in person or virtually. "If you could email me or give like a permission from it signed by the commissioner," Zinda said, and he left his contact information for follow‑up.

Commissioners noted that the signs themselves must remain and that the county should not assume ongoing maintenance responsibilities for equipment it does not own. The board directed staff to prepare a signed authorization and email it to the BNSF contact so the company’s engineering team can schedule removal and confirm the work with county staff.