Regional Industry & News

Council Bluffs works with Union Pacific on train crossing delays

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - The city of Council Bluffs is working with Union Pacific Railroad to find immediate solutions and also work on a long-term fix to a decades-old problem.

Sipriano DeSantiago worked for Union Pacific Railroad for 40 years and lives near the tracks.

“I have no complaints about the trains, because if it wasn’t for the trains, we wouldn’t have a town here,” said DeSantiago, of Council Bluffs.

But there have been times when the trains cause traffic to back up on 16th Street, and that can be a problem.

“Oh, they block it from here to Fifth Avenue a lot of times,” DeSantiago said.

“A lot of times these big semis and stuff, they’ll block the driveway, and we can’t get out at all,” DeSantiago said.

Longer trains causing backups

“As industry has grown, as the industry has changed, the length of the cars has gotten longer, which is causing the problems of the backups at the crossings,” said Mayor Jill Shudak, of Council Bluffs.

Shudak agrees Council Bluffs is a railroad town. She says she’s been working with representatives of Union Pacific. The railroad has adjusted train schedules to avoid crossings during peak travel times.

“They moved the trains out of the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. window, and they also shifted in the afternoon, so we shouldn’t see those trains coming from three until 6 p.m. either. Makes commutes to work and school a lot easier,” Shudak said.

“And then most important thing is, when the crossing is blocked, the train is actually moving, so that’s great — they’re just not sitting there for 20 or 30 minutes at a time,” Shudak said.

Long-term funding sought

Shudak says Union Pacific will also help Council Bluffs with a more long-term solution, supporting the city in its efforts to tap into the railway tracks overpass and underpass fund. That’s state funding that helps cities and counties in Iowa fix blocked railroad crossings and improve safety.

“The first step in getting those funds will be having the study completed, and we anticipate that being done in about six to nine months,” Shudak said.

Meanwhile, Sipriano will continue to listen to the trains cross the tracks and hope one day to have no issues getting out of his driveway.

“They’ve been talking about it for a long time, but like I say, I worked there for 40 years, and I can’t blame the railroad. We wouldn’t have a town here,” DeSantiago said.

Union Pacific responds

Union Pacific issued a statement that reads in part: “We appreciate the City of Council Bluffs’ partnership in addressing community concerns. By working together, we can help reduce impacts on residents while continuing to safely and efficiently deliver the goods Americans depend on every day.”