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Council approves consultant agreement to study railroad crossing eliminations and safety improvements
Summary
Aberdeen council authorized staff to move forward with a professional services agreement for a rail crossing‑improvement study, citing a federal rail crossing elimination grant award and a target completion date of July 2027; council member questions focused on traffic impacts and potential road closures.
City staff advised the Aberdeen City Council on July 8 that the city will move forward with a professional services agreement to study safety improvements and possible crossing eliminations along a corridor with seven railroad crossings.
Engineer Nick Byrne summarized the project history: the city applied for a rail crossing elimination grant (described in the staff report as a roughly $300,000 project and noted as awarded in March 2025), selected consultants through a qualifications process, and negotiated an agreement with Cambridge Systematics (noted in the staff presentation as working in partnership with WSP). Byrne said the project will evaluate safety improvements required to pursue a Federal Railroad Administration "quiet zone" and will include stakeholder outreach, coordination with Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad, the Port of Grays Harbor and other partners.
Byrne said the study will assess which crossings could be closed and which safety upgrades would be needed to avoid horn use; he warned that closing crossings can redirect traffic and affect businesses and truck routes. "When you talk about closing down one of these crossings, that is going to migrate or cause traffic to migrate a different direction," Byrne said, adding the study will evaluate traffic impacts and mitigation measures.
Staff reported the grant award and a local match requirement reflected in the project budget (transcript references the local match at approximately $65,550 and a contribution from Hoquiam). Byrne said the project schedule in the presentation targets July 2027 completion assuming approvals and funding are in place.
Council approved the recommendation to authorize the mayor to execute the consultant agreement; the measure passed on a voice vote.
Next steps include formal contract execution once grant paperwork is finalized and scheduled public outreach meetings to involve affected neighborhoods and freight stakeholders.
