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Hastings and Pine Avenue BNSF crossings open
The BNSF Railway crossings at Hastings and Pine avenues reopened on Monday, Nov. 13.
The work was done by Ben Engel Construction of Hastings. Hastings Avenue was closed mid-May and Pine Avenue after that.
Lee Vrooman, Director of Engineering for the City of Hastings, gave an update on the crossings while presenting the one- and six-year street improvement plan during the Hastings Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 14.
The project included new concrete pavement, railroad crossing pads, sidewalk improvements and raised concrete medians near the railroad tracks. The crossing work also included construction of 100-foot concrete medians and 60-foot barrier curbs, as safety measures required by the Federal Railroad Administration for quiet zone implementation.
The Hastings Avenue work also included complete replacement of Hastings Avenue to South Street.
The crossings at Lincoln, Denver and California avenues are under contract with Werner Construction of Hastings. Work on those crossings is scheduled for 2024.
The design work and bidding of Colorado and Elm avenues is also scheduled for 2024. Physical work on those two crossings, and overall completion of the quiet zone, is anticipated for 2025.
The quiet zone takes effect only after construction is complete on all the crossings and appropriate paperwork is filed with the FRA for the quiet crossing designation.
Once the quiet crossings are in effect, BNSF Railway train horns will typically be limited in that area to when something is on the tracks or during switching activity. Amtrak trains will also continue to blow their horns when entering and existing the Hastings depot.
Completion of the Hastings and Pine avenue crossings took longer than anticipated because coordination with the BNSF Railway took longer than anticipated.
“We’ll continue to work with them to hopefully speed that process along as much as we can,” Vrooman said.
Work on the railroad quiet crossings is funded by the city’s current half cent sales tax that was approved by 81.55% of voters in September 2017.
Published Date: 11/16/2023