The city of Blaine has been awarded $66.4 million from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program for an overpass project at the Bell Road BNSF railroad crossing. The funding will support the final design and construction of the project.
The city’s project will install an overpass that will carry traffic over the crossing, and install a roundabout at the intersection of Bell Road and Peace Portal Drive. This will make the crossing safer and it will reduce backups on roads near the crossing.
Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon said that trains occupy the Bell Road crossing for about 96 minutes a day, according to the city’s estimate included in its grant application.
“This project is a catalyst for Blaine,” Harmon said. “It’s going to take us to the next level. It will provide reliable, safe transportation for our first responders and our residents to cross the tracks.”
He also mentioned that multiuse paths will be extended along Peace Portal Drive, improving access for cyclists and pedestrians.
BNSF Railway Co. was crucial in helping the city secure the federal funds, he said.
BNSF has helped the city by paying to put together Blaine’s grant applications, which total “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Harmon said.
In addition to the $66.4 million in federal funds, the city will match about 20% of that. The cost of the project will likely end up totalling about $82.5 million, Harmon said. That’s not counting the $11 million that has already been spent on the project (which was funded through state grants and appropriations).
Harmon thanked BNSF, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and the civil engineering and design firm David Evans and Associates for their support.
The city is currently working on the 30% design phase of the overpass project, Harmon said, and it will likely be five to seven years before the project is completed and open to traffic.
The federal funding was the missing piece that now allows the city to continue the project. There’s a long road ahead, Harmon said, but “Blaine has a very bright future.”
