Community
by Grant Gager, City Manager
**Is the City conducting another study for a new railroad crossing? **
The short answer is—not yet. The City is pursuing federal funding which would help the community evaluate opportunities to improve bike, pedestrian and vehicle crossings over the railway within the City. The current federal grant application follows last fall's state application and two recent federal attempts to help the City obtain federal support. These applications are part of the City's commitment to improving our rail crossings.
The current effort differs from past reviews in a critical way: it intends to examine opportunities along the entire length of the city rail corridor. Whereas the 2019 Northside Transportation Plan Update reviewed crossing opportunities by exit 330 and the 2007 effort examined a crossing by the intersection of Front Street and Star Road. The City intends to review all viable locations in the corridor analysis. By doing so, the community will have the opportunity to evaluate the attributes and opportunities of several locations with the goal of selecting locally preferred projects for crossing improvements. Once the locally preferred improvements are identified, the City team will work to present construction funding options to the community.
Given the most recent voter rejection of funding crossing improvements, the City recognizes that it must present a compelling project that is shaped by community input in order to move forward. Obtaining federal funds for an alternatives analysis would help jumpstart that process in a meaningful and taxpayer-friendly way!
Why doesn't the city fix the 5th street crossing?
The 5th Street crossing is owned and maintained by the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) as part of its urban route network through the City. The City did work with the railroad for certain improvements to the crossing in 2023. However, that work revealed greater impacts from stormwater than anticipated.
As a result, the City is working with MDT and the railroad through the preliminary engineering stages of a rebuild of the crossing in the coming years. At this point, it appears as though the crossing will be widened to incorporate two southbound lanes starting at Front Street. Bike and pedestrian improvements are also a top priority to ensure a safe crossing for all!
Have questions you'd like the City to answer? Send them to www.LivingstonMontana.org/contact.