T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY The currently closed railroad crossing at South 2nd Street is shown in a recent photo. During Monday night’s meeting, the Marshalltown city council voted unanimously to move forward with authorization for the notice of intent to permanently and formally close the 2nd Street crossing and proceed with the quiet zone project in general.

The final discussion item on Monday night’s city council agenda pertained to the ongoing railroad quiet zone project, or as Mayor Joel Greer alternately referred to it, the “safety zone” project.

Public Works Director Heather Thomas provided the council with a brief update on the project, the first since March of 2024. Since then, the city and the Union Pacific Railroad have negotiated a deal to close the crossing at 2nd Street just north of the YMCA/YWCA, and Thomas said they have since made a lot of coordination efforts with the UP.

Because of the addition of a railyard, the UP is required to do constant warning and signal updates at four other crossings in town. As a result, the city modified its plans and indicated where the railroad could move signal cabinets that they had to do anyway to save the city money on its project.

“We are at a point now where we are in agreement on the plans that we have in front of us, and this last month, then, we got cost estimates from the UP railroad as well,” Thomas said.

Most of the costs to the city, she said, are reimbursements to the UP contractors because they only allow their contractors to do that work within their right of way. The closure of 2nd Street has also allowed the city to eliminate some of the hard surface work outside of paint and signage at the 12th Avenue crossing, so the city project will now be focused on 12th Street and 6th Street.

On 12th Street, Thomas said they are looking at the center raised median as well as curbs on the outside and tying in those areas, and at 6th Street, they are establishing a pedestrian sidewalk all the way through to provide better connection. With the updates, the projected total cost beyond what has already been spent is about $1,165,000.

According to Thomas, it will be funded by a bond swap from the 363 fund and $457,000 from road use tax. With an upcoming formal council vote and agreement to close 2nd Street, Thomas said it was important to get a notice of intent to establish out to the public before any documents are signed.

With the floor opened for questions, Councilor Gary Thompson asked about the cost differential between establishing a quiet zone and closing more intersections. Thomas noted that the city and the UP have negotiated an $850,000 payment to the city for closing the 2nd Street crossing along with a $100,000 matching grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT).

“The reason we were able to negotiate such a high dollar amount was because of their yard project where they were adding that second track, and that eliminated them from doing about $750,000 worth of signal work at that intersection,” she said. “Had that not happened, we were looking closer at the $100 (thousand) maybe from UP and $100 (thousand) from DOT for a total of $200,000 for the closure of a crossing.”

Councilor Mike Ladehoff asked when the vote on closing 2nd Street was expected, and Thomas said it depends on when the UP sends back “hard plans” of their proposed infrastructure changes, which have not yet been received. When she has reached out to UP representatives, she’s been told they are in their final review and it’s coming.

“I’d love to tell you that we expect to receive that in the next month, but I can’t make that commitment with the UP’s track record,” Thomas said.

With no public comments, the council voted unanimously to move forward with authorization for the notice of intent to close the 2nd Street crossing and proceed with the quiet zone in general.