Oak Ridge North council approves closure of Robinson railroad crossing

Oak Ridge North City Council officials approved an agreement with the Union Pacific Railroad to close the existing railroad crossing at the intersection of Robinson Road and Hanna Road as part of the Robinson Road realignment project on Sept. 23.

Why it matters

The Robinson Road realignment project aims to reduce congestion along the main thoroughfare in Oak Ridge North. The project began construction in February, allowing the city to begin negotiations with the UPRR to allow for the closure and reconstruction of the railroad crossing.

"This will be the next step in the railroad process," Public Works Director James Corn said. "This will make this an operation agreement that will lay out the guidelines of the annual fees, the cost of construction, etc. This is the actual agreement with the railroad once we open the crossing here on out."

The details

Under the agreement, the UPRR with deconstruct the current railroad crossing and reestablish it once the realignment project nears completion. The contract states the relocation of the railroad crossing will cost $2 million, but the city will only be responsible for paying $134,000 for the agreement and a yearly maintenance fee of $19,478 due to the cost of rewiring and operating the new crossing.

What else?

With the finalization of the contract, the UPRR will work to provide an estimate of the construction time for the project. Corn said current estimates project the crossing construction will take one to three months once work begins. There is not a start time finalized for work to begin as of press time.