Millwood pushes to keep UP rail crossing open

Millwood leaders are working with the Union Pacific to maintain a railroad crossing at Marguerite Road that the railroad wanted removed.

At the City Council’s regular monthly meeting it was reported that city staff along with Matt Gillis of Welch Comer and Associates met with Union Pacific and Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission representatives at the Marguerite site last month to negotiate terms of the agreement to improve safety at the crossing as well as for parking along railroad right-of-way on Euclid Avenue.

Union Pacific has been trying to close the crossing over safety concerns since earlier this year. The city wants to keep it open.

Gillis said that if the city provides a design that meet’s Union Pacific’s standards, the railroad is willing to maintain the Marguerite crossing.

During the meeting, Union Pacific requested the reconfiguration of Marguerite to allow unimpeded traffic flow.

The proposed reconfiguration would require traffic to slow at the intersection on Marguerite without having to come to a complete stop. But traffic moving east and west on Euclid, which runs parallel to the track would be required to stop at Marguerite. Besides reconfiguring the intersection, Union Pacific requested a lighted railroad gate.

“What that means is there won’t be any more traffic quote-unquote stuck at that intersection,” Millwood Mayor Kevin Freeman said. “Such that they wouldn’t be able to move off that crossing if a train was coming or if in the future, the gates went down.”

Gillis said work had already begun on the project. Welch collected traffic count data on the Marguerite intersection.

“We got some real good data on Marguerite,” Gillis said. “There is an average of 1,500 vehicles a day, which is a lot more than we expected.”

Gillis said the volume of traffic may help efforts to secure grant funding for the project.

Addressing the grade difference of the crossing, one of the issues cited by Union Pacific, Gillis said he didn’t see any evidence of trailers dragging across the crossing and isn’t concerned about it as a safety issue. He recommended posting Low Ground Clearance signs on each side of intersection.

“I think we can handle that with signage as opposed to ripping up and redoing the intersection,” Gillis said. “That would be very costly.”

Gillis anticipates a design to be completed in the next couple weeks. Once Union Pacific approves the design, it will be submitted to Utilities and Transportation Commission along with a grant application for funds to pay for a lighted railroad crossing, estimated to cost $120,000.

“There seemed to be a consensus between WUTC and UP that this was a very high priority for getting that crossing controlled,” Freeman said. “I am hopeful that they are looking at this as a fully funded project that needs to be done in the name of rail safety.”

Freeman said once the Marguerite crossing is controlled, Union Pacific agreed to finalize the lease agreements for beautification and parking along its right-of-way.