Bumpy Ainsworth railroad crossing repair to begin

AINSWORTH – Slowing down to a snail pace to avoid being jostled too much while crossing the Old Military Road railroad crossing in Ainsworth will hopefully become a thing of the past as the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway (CPKC) will begin repairs on the crossing at noon, Tuesday, Oct. 21, weather permitting. The work, however, is expected to take approximately two weeks.

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Nearly three years ago the City of Ainsworth, Washington County, and the railway were authorized to receive funds from the state DOT’s Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing Surface Repair Program for this project. The grant, funded by Iowa’s road use tax dollars, will cover the cost of 60% of this project with the railway paying for 20%, the City of Ainsworth paying 10% and Washington County paying 10%.

When the grant was first approved in December 2022, Washington County Engineer Jacob Thorius knew the project could take until 2024 or 2025, but had hoped it would be finished before now. With work on the crossing requiring coordination of multiple entities, however, the timeline was a bit longer than Thorius had hoped.

“The railway will need to complete their work before we can start any of our work,” Thorius explained.

CPKC is expected to complete their portion of the project by Thursday, Oct. 23. All American Concrete is then scheduled to begin work on Monday, Oct. 27.

According to Thorius, the bumpiness that motorists experience at this crossing is a combination of many factors and to make the crossing smoother, everything will need to match up. CPKC will first focus on the needs for trains passing through. CPKC will replace the grade crossing and reset the track.

Working together, and in the correct order, will play an important role in making the crossing as uniform as possible.

“A lot of times when the railroad comes in, they can raise the grade slightly and then things settle,” Thorius said. “They make sure they are good for grading and set for the train, then we set everything to match the best we can.”

After CPKC’s work is complete the All American will work to replace short sections of the concrete roadway to ensure a smooth transition to the new crossing.

“During the repair, the crossing will be closed to all traffic,” a press release from the Washington County Engineer’s Office states. “A posted detour route will direct traffic to the east through Ainsworth to the rail crossing at 3rd Street. If there is a delay between the two phases, the roadway will be reopened.”

Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com