St. Louis County Approves $2.3M Plan to Eliminate Two Midway Road Railroad Crossings

St. Louis County commissioners gave preliminary approval to hire engineering firm Sambatek, LLC to plan the elimination of two railroad crossings on Midway Road between I-35 and Highway 2, advancing a $2,328,000 effort that draws most of its funding from a federal grant secured three years ago.

The Midway Road Railroad Crossings Elimination Planning Project has been in motion since 2023, when the county applied for a Railroad Crossing Elimination grant through the Federal Railroad Administration. In 2024, the county received word that the FRA had awarded $1,862,400 for project planning and development. An additional $249,000 comes from the Minnesota Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Match Program, with the county covering the remaining $217,000.

The urgency behind the project lies in what daily life on Midway Road has become. More than 7,000 vehicles use the corridor each day, and between 15 and 20 percent of those are freight trucks. Each crossing contends with up to 30 trains per day, and delays have compounded as trains have grown longer and run more frequently.

Commissioner Keith Musolf, whose district includes both crossings, tied those delays directly to economic consequences. "The wait for motorists at these crossings causes more than just frustration," Musolf said. "With so many vehicles carrying freight, there's an economic impact as well, so I'm excited to see what alternatives can be determined to keep our trains and our motoring public moving safely and efficiently." He called the commissioners' action "encouraging progress" while acknowledging significant work remains.

Under the contract with Sambatek, LLC, engineers will gather public input to develop alternatives for closing both crossings, finalize a recommended layout and cost estimate, and produce an environmental document required for federal approval. One of the crossings is located at Midway Road and Old Highway 2 near Adolph; the precise location of the second crossing has not been publicly identified. A construction timeline has not been set, and the planning process must clear several technical and regulatory steps before any physical work could begin.