The city of Austin has reached agreement at last with the I&M Raillink about both a bike trail and a street.

Wednesday, December 22, 1999

The city of Austin has reached agreement at last with the I&M Raillink about both a bike trail and a street.

"Originally," City Engineer Jon Erichson said, "I&M denied our request to build an at-grade crossing for the bike path at Interstate 90 and Eight Avenue NE."

The city was in the process of extending the local bike trail system around Austin, in order not just to connect the trails in the area to each other, but to connect Austin’s trails to the network of bike trails statewide.

Railroads typically frown on at-grade crossings because it brings people onto the tracks for however short a period of time.

"They felt it could potentially lead to claims against them," Erichson explained.

The city was also hoping to extend Fourth Avenue during this time.

"We wanted to build a full-time street for use between 10th and 11th streets," Erichson said.

This extension would also have involved an at-grade crossing of the railroad’s main line, as well as a spur where the railroad routes trains which may not be in use.

"It would have forced them to split their trains, which would have been a big hassle for them," Erichson said.

The city had the right to use this area, however, and so the matter went to court up in the Twin Cities.

"We’ve been to court numerous times on this," Erichson noted.

However, negotiations bore fruit.

"We’ve agreed to make the Fourth Street extension just an emergency use one," Erichson said. This means cars would only make that at-grade crossing if disaster strikes and Oakland Place and Eighth Avenue are flooded or a derailment has caused a significant traffic diversion.

On the bike path, the railroad agreed to construct a below-grade crossing at the original site specified. This would involve installing a large culvert so bikers and walkers could pass beneath the tracks.

"I don’t know of the city will pursue that," Erichson said. Why not? Because another, and good, solution has been reached.

"While this was being negotiated, we widened the sidewalk and ran the bike path down Eighth Avenue NE, and cross it at the street crossing."

Erichson said that solution has worked out very well, and going back to work on the below-grade crossing would incur costs to both the railroad and the city.