Planned railroad crossing closures could divide Milano

By Curtis Chubb, Special to the Herald

The City Council of Milano met on Monday for their regular monthly meeting; the discussion, however, was anything but regular. The discussion revealed news which could lead to isolating the west side of the city from the east side.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), the railroad company that owns the north-south tracks through Milano, has been in contact with the city for up to a year about a project that would permanently close the Avenue E railroad crossing, according to Milano Mayor Billy Barnett. Avenue E is the road that extends between the post office and the civic center. Closing the Avenue E railroad crossing would eliminate the only route between the two sides of the city besides US 79.
BNSF’s plans discussed at the council meeting also included adding a second track parallel to the existing track and constructing a connection between the BNSF tracks and Union Pacific railroad tracks which run east-west through Milano. The connecting track would be in the southwest quadrant of the two lines’ intersection.
In addition, BNSF presented plans for the permanent closure of two Union Pacific crossings at County Roads 330 and 340. But they did suggest extending Church Street across the Union Pacific tracks and adding a new crossing at that point.

For the full story, see today's print or digital edition.