Dayton Highlights Rail Collision Ahead Of Special Session
ST. PAUL PARK, Minn. (WCCO) -- Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is continuing his push for railway safety. This comes after a collision between an oil train and semi-truck last Sunday.
It happened at the intersection of Hastings Avenue and First Street in St. Paul Park. Luckily, the semi-truck was carrying flour. Officials say it could've been much worse. Efforts are now underway to make that crossing safer.
Gov. Dayton says railroad safety isn't just a problem in St. Paul Park. It's a regional issue. Dayton, Lt. Gov. Tina Smith and other city officials met Tuesday to figure out a way to fix rail crossings safer for drivers.
They focused on the rail crossing on Hastings Avenue and First Street. A MnDOT study last year identified the St. Paul Park railroad crossing as dangerous. The railroad and city say a tragedy was averted in the accident just a few days ago, but they want to be proactive instead of reactive.
Their solution is to close the crossing. If that were to happen today, that would cut off access to businesses. So the mayor and city council have ordered a feasibility study to examine the road improvements that are needed before closing the railway crossing.
"Public safety is our first responsibility and all of us should be not at peace until we can look you in the eye and say we've done everything possible and more to make sure you're absolutely safe," Dayton said.
"We begged, we pleaded for action on rail safety and quite frankly the $5 million that the Republicans put in the bill just doesn't cut it," Rep. Dan Schoen said.
The mayor of St. Paul Park, Keith Franke, says this crossing is near homes and businesses. That includes a refinery, and that's the main concern. The city expects to get the feasibility study back at the beginning of July.
Minnesota has 4,400 miles of rail carrying hundreds of highly flammable oil cars a day through communities like St. Paul Park.
Almost none of Dayton's rail safety initiative got passed this year. It would have taxed railroads to pay for improvements at crossings like the one in St. Paul Park.
"If you live right here, or you send your kids to school right here, or you are looking over a huge refinery right there, it's pretty hard for me to see how someone could say this is not a serious situation," Dayton said.
BNSF has been working with the city to close this crossing where the crash occurred, but it says the overwhelming majority of grade crossing collisions like this don't result in a train derailment.
In a statement, BNSF said: "Safety is our railroad's No. 1 priority, and we've made strong progress in reducing all types of incidents."
The city is working closely with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Constructing an alternate access could start as soon as spring 2016 in order to close the crossing. It's expected to cost around $2 million.
The governor is also asking the legislature to put up more money for railroad crossing safety when it meets in a special session. Otherwise, he said he'll come back next year and try again.
The legislature did put up $5 million to upgrade a handful of railroad crossings and it created two more emergency rail response facilities, in Willmar and Duluth, but Republican leaders say the state needs to take a step back to get a better idea of exactly what's happening, and they're willing to come back next year.
