Tupelo to receive $1.5 million grant for railroad projects
Aug. 11—TUPELO — With a $1.5 million federal grant coming their way, Tupelo officials hope to take significant steps toward upgrades to the city's railroad infrastructure.
"This is a real shot in the arm for the city," Mayor Todd Jordan said. "The administration is extremely excited and honored to get this because it shows we are not only talking about (railroad upgrades) but also taking action."
The funding arrives as part of the federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and & Equity grant program. City officials say they plan to use the money to pay for engineering work on a handful of planned railroad upgrades, including the construction of an overpass on Eason Boulevard to bypass the Kansas City Southern Railroad crossing on the street, moving the Crosstown switching operation, developing quiet zones in the city and the installation of new safety features throughout the city's railroad crossings.
City Engineer Dennis Bonds said the grant covers 30% of the overall $4.8 million in engineering costs for the project.
The grant, Development Services Director Tanner Newman said, will be used for "everything leading up to the construction phase." He said the administration plans to apply for more grants to continue construction.
As of Wednesday, city officials have no solid timeline for the project.
Reducing the noise and/or traffic backup from the city's railroad crossings is a priority for current city officials ... just as it has been for multiple administrations.
Newman said the city gets at least one complaint about crosstown's train intersection a week.
"This administration has worked with our federal delegation and BNSF to come up with a solution that is realistic and that we intend to implement," Newman said. "Public safety is the primary focus of these three initiatives, but they will also lead to an improvement in quality of life."
Newman said he believes previous attempts to divert the railway were less than feasible and cost-prohibitive. A 2008 study had project estimates topping more $800 million. That project involved diverting the train away from Crosstown.
City officials say the current version of the project has an estimated price tag of around $60 million.
Quiet Zone project slowly progressing
Meanwhile, the city is moving forward with multiple railroad crossing upgrades, which Bonds said represents a significant step toward creating citywide quiet zones.
Federal regulations require trains to sound warnings before crossing a road, but federally designated quiet zones — a section of track that has safety features like crossing arms and flashing lights — lets railroads waive federal regulations on when and for how long to sound a warning upon crossing a road.
"It is going to take some time and some money to get there, but we are moving forward," Bonds said. "Tupelo wouldn't be here if it weren't for the trains. They are our partners in all of this."
There are 19 railroad crossings throughout Tupelo. The federal railroad administration minimum for a quiet zone is half-a-mile of track with crossing up to quiet zone standards, including flashing lights, crossing arms and medians. Bringing each crossing up to standard would take about $25,000 apiece, Bonds said.
Bonds said the administration plans to create two quiet zones, which will cover most of the city. The zones will be broken at Crosstown, which Bonds said cannot feasibly be made into a quiet zone because of existing infrastructure.
City officials in 2019 said the cost to equip each of the 19 intersections throughout Tupelo with the equipment needed to secure quiet zone status for the city was around $5.5 million.
In 2016, the Mississippi Department of Transportation awarded Tupelo a $1 million grant to make safety upgrades at several railroad intersections, although those projects have been delayed multiple times over the years.
Tupelo's portion of the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and & Equity grant was part of an overall $15.4 million in infrastructure money for the state, which also included $12.6 million for Yazoo City for main street revitalization and $1.4 million for Ripley's Tanglefoot Trail extension.
