Feb. 14—The Colorado Springs City Council approved an agreement Tuesday that paves the way for a new rail spur and industrial park south of town that could bring about 6,000 jobs to El Paso County.

The Edw. C. Levy Company, a Michigan-based business, is planning the $12 million rail spur that will extend from an existing rail line serving Colorado Springs Utilities' Ray Nixon Power Plant and extend across private property to Fort Carson, said Steve Mulliken, an attorney for the company.

Fort Carson could then extend the line onto its property to serve a new rail yard, providing an alternative to its existing rail yard near South Academy Boulevard. Rail allows the Army to move heavy military vehicles and equipment to the country's coasts where they can be shipped overseas.

Ahead of a unanimous vote, the council lauded the rail line's benefit to Fort Carson and the prospective new heavy industrial area just west of the power plant along Interstate 25.

"This is an important part of our community's future," Councilman Wayne Williams said.

The prospective industrial park that could cover more than 3,000 acres would fill a need for industrial and manufacturing sites in El Paso County that can be tough to build because they tend to be unpopular with neighboring homes. This site will be shielded from traffic along I-25 and doesn't have residential neighbors.

"If you want to have more manufacturing, you need to have a place for it," Mulliken said.

The approval of agreements between Colorado Springs Utilities and Edw. C. Levy Company needed to build the rail extension end a long negotiation that featured how Utilities will be protected.

Coal deliveries will be prioritized and ratepayers will not be impacted by the cost of the new spur, Bethany Burgess, Utilities division chief for the City Attorney's Office, said previously.

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The project now faces land-use and metro-district approvals, Mulliken said. Metro districts allow developments to take on debt that will be paid through property taxes.

Before dirt moves, the industrial park property is likely to annex into the city of Fountain, which would provide utilities to the site, a step the community supports, Deputy City Manager Todd Evans said.

"It's a great fit," he said.

The company hopes to start construction in less than five years, said Steve Weiner, who manages real estate affairs for the Edw. C. Levy Company. The business expects to fund the rail line in part through federal grants, Weiner told the council.

Once the rail line reaches Fort Carson's boundary, the Army can extend it to serve a new rail yard. Fort Carson's current rail line has seven points of vulnerability and a second rail line would increase the reliability of rail operations for the base, according to a letter from Matthew McFarlane, former commander of the 4th Infantry Division. The letter was presented ahead of the vote.

In a written statement Tuesday, Fort Carson officials said they are interested in seeing how the project develops.

"Fort Carson has raised the concern of having only one rail connection at present to the Army leadership. We are very interested in any community project that could offer an opportunity for Fort Carson to gain a secondary rail connection," the statement said.

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