The cost to silence train whistles in East Grand Forks could cost $1.2 million dollars. The city council reviewed the bids for creating a Quiet Zone within the city during last night’s (Tuesday) work session.
East Grand Forks has been working with BNSF on easements…construction…and closure agreements. One of the larger projects is the removal of the street crossing at 3rd Street NW.
Funding would be covered by a combination of sources from BNSF….MNDOT…State Aid Construction dollars…and local monies. The apparent low bid is 29% above the engineer estimate.
Mayor Steve Gander says finding the dollars is never easy. “Will the cost go down? I don’t see them going down. Will we see another source of funds? I don’t think so. Is a quiet zone in the heart of our city a priority? Seems like it is.”
City Engineer Steve Emery says the goal is to begin the work in June. “The signals themselves may not get done until 2025 construction. So with that we wouldn’t be able to activate the Quiet Zone until the signals are installed.”
The council will likely award the bid in early March.
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