Turrell officials, BNSF come to agreement on fix for railroad intersection

Turrell officials, BNSF come to agreement on fix for railroad intersection

Mayor: ‘ That whole underpass is in awful shape’

news@theeveningtimes.com

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad has agreed to repair a crumbling overpass and to better maintain its tracks in Turrell.

Mayor Dorothy Cooper said she recently spoke with officials at the railroad about doing a better job of mowing the grass and keeping the weeds down between their two sets of tracks running through the city.

“I was concerned about the area in-between the two railroad tracks,” Cooper said. “I probably had to call about seven times, but finally got in touch with the right person to see if they could come out and help us keep that area clean.”

Cooper said she got a pledge from the railroad to keep the area clean.

The area in-between the tracks had overgrown weeds and was littered with trash and debris.

“They have already come out and been keeping the grass down,” Cooper said.

“In fact, their guy was here the other day spraying the grass. So I appreciate them for that.”

Burlington Northern Santa Fe also agreed to replace the concrete under the overpass on Highway 77 in Turrell.

Cooper said the concrete is in bad shape and she is concerned that it could fall and damage passing motorists’ vehicles.

“That whole underpass is in awful shape,” Cooper said. “So I requested that they come and fix it because there was a risk of debris falling on cars.”

The railroad did come out and repair the wire mesh screening which was preventing any debris from falling, but told Cooper that they were also planning to replace the whole trestle at some point in the near future.

“I got a call back that they had a meeting and agreed to take that whole slab and fix it,” Cooper said. “They gave me an estimate of $300,000 that it is going to cost them.”

By Mark Randall