DEPARTMENT: Transportation
FILE TYPE: Regular Information
TITLE
title
Provide Findings Of At-Grade Railroad Crossing Improvement Plan
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RESOLUTION
body
Information only; no action requested.
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BACKGROUND
The Dakota County highway system consists of 339 miles of County State Aid Highways (CSAH) and 75 miles of County Roads (CR), the purpose of which is to move people and goods in the safest and most efficient manner possible. The County highway system also includes 26 at-grade rail crossings. At these locations, maintenance of the rails and active warning devices are generally the responsibility of the railroad, while the crossing surface, highway approaches, and trail crossings are the responsibility of the County.
The Dakota County 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Program identified $2.75 Million in Regional Railroad Authority Funds over a five-year period as a Railroad Crossing Set Aside. The purpose of the set-aside funding is to address existing County-maintained highway-rail grade crossings in need of replacement or enhancement.
Transportation staff contracted with HDR, Inc. to develop a prioritization plan for at-grade County highway railroad crossings for replacement and/or enhancement. The plan identifies the at-grade crossings that are candidates for replacement with the anticipated year for programming. The plan prioritized rail grade crossings based on age, condition, community impacts, railroad coordination, and available funding sources. The plan provides summaries of existing conditions, railroad coordination efforts, and key issues and needs at each crossing location.
The following are the top prioritized rail grade proposed improvement projects. Included are the County highway, city, estimated construction cost, and proposed construction year. The top two prioritized projects are included with and will be completed with current programmed road construction projects.
Proposed Improvement Projects
1. CSAH 9 (Dodd Blvd), Lakeville, $140,000 (budgeted with Transportation CIP project)
2. CSAH 32 (Cliff Rd), Burnsville, $235,000 (budgeted with Transportation CIP project)
3. CSAH 46 (160th St W), Rosemount, $350,000
4. CSAH 28 (Yankee Doodle Rd), Eagan, $790,000
5. CSAH 42 (150th St W), Rosemount, $760,000 (budgeted with Transportation CIP project)
To implement top priority locations, a second phase of consultant assistance is required for design engineering activities for final crossing selections. Design engineering will include all efforts needed to produce final construction plan and bidding documents necessary for the replacement of at-grade crossings. This includes stakeholder and agency coordination and management of the design engineering process.
RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Staff recommends proceeding with implementation of top-recommended at-grade crossing improvement candidate locations identified in the plan. If the Regional Railroad Authority agrees, staff will proceed with design engineering.
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FINANCIAL AND STAFFING IMPACTS
The Regional Rail Authority Capital Improvement Program includes $550,000 for the RR00031 Railroad Crossing Setaside. There is sufficient project budget available to fund the staff estimated $100,000 consultant-assisted design engineering activities. Assigned Transportation Department staff will oversee and direct consultant-assisted management of the design engineering process.
RR00031 Railroad Crossing Setaside
|
Funding Source |
Total Approved Budget |
Available Budget |
|
County Funds |
$550,000 |
$550,000 |
|
Total |
$550,000 |
$550,000 |
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION
25-004; 07/29/25
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment: Presentation Slides
CONTACT
Department Director: Erin Laberee
Author: Scott Peters