Article submitted by James Master, The Pilot News Managing Editor
The first thing that the Argos Town Council handled at last week’s meeting was the town attorney report. Attorney Derek Jones brought forth a resolution regarding Norfolk Southern and the West Street crossing.
He informed the council that he has been working with Town Utility Superintendent Jamie Lindstrom. Lindstrom, in turn, has been working with Norfolk Southern.
“There’s an agreement that’s attached to that resolution and that, if you’re willing, needs to be approved, but the gist of this is that West Street crossing there at the railroad tracks would be closed. The town would receive the sum of $40,000 but there would also be upgrades to the crossings at Linden and Kenilworth Roads, provided that we enter into this agreement,” said Jones.
Jones went on to say that the timeframe commences as soon as Norfolk Southern signs the agreement. Once the agreement is signed, the railroad company has 34 days to issue the payment to the town. He advised the council that if they haven’t received a signed copy from the railroad in three months, there should be another resolution approved to rescind the agreement.
Council Member George Null asked what Norfolk Southern would do at the West Street crossing once it’s closed. Lindstrom said, “They’ll put a guardrail with a bunch of signs and stuff on it, reflectors.”
Council President Charles Randy Sneed asked about where the road would end. “It’ll just go, like, 25 feet off the tracks or 40 feet off the tracks. So, they won’t shut the whole road down, it’ll just be the crossing.”
Lindstrom added that if the signage would be damaged, the town would be responsible for it. Norfolk Southern is only responsible for the initial signage.
He told the council that by shutting down the West Street crossing, it would make truck traffic focus on the crossings at Kenilworth Road and Linden Road. Council Vice-President Shawn Harley asked if the grade to those two crossings would be improved.
“We discussed that,” Lindstrom said. “They’ll allow us to do it.”
Lindstrom went on to clarify that the railroad will only take care of what’s inside the crossings. “They’ll let us pave all the way to the crossings. Usually you can’t do that, but they’re going to allow us to pave all the way to the crossing. That way we can fix the grade and all that stuff.”
He also stated that normally the town would have to pay for a railroad attendant to be there for the repairs, but Norfolk Southern will be paying for that.
All of these details are listed in the agreement.
The town council approved the agreement unanimously.
