Clinton City Engineer Jason Craft is looking ahead at plans to close the viaducts into south Clinton and turn the rail crossing at South Fourth Street and South Second Street into ‘at grade’ crossings.
Craft asked the City Services Committee to support getting a study completed on project. He says the viaducts are not in imminent danger of failure, but the city must look at scheduling something to be done. Craft says the inspections of the viaducts have graded them at a one or two on a scale up to 100.
He says when the new Union Pacific rail bridge would relieve some of the train traffic on the viaducts and it’s a good time to plan.
Craft says on-going maintenance will continue on the structures. He said the city is responsibe for the maintenance. The City Engineer says the city should also pursue assistance from the railroads when it is time for the project.
It’s estimated that once the U-P bridge is in place the viaducts would carry 6 to 7 trains a day from the Canadian Pacific.
Craft says he has talked to an engineering firm that would do the study on a not to exceed $40,000 basis. It would paid for by road use tax funds in the 2016 budget year. That study would include funding and design.
The Committee recommended moving ahead with the study. The council will consider approval.
The City Services Committee also recommended approval of moving ahead with a replace of the West Deer Creek bridge that Craft says must be replaced. He told the committee that there would be 80-percent federal funding with about a $180,000 local share and it would be in 2016 budget.
