YC on track with rail removal

Railroad track crossings in Yuba City may become as much a memory as steam-powered locomotives.

The city is about to finally get rid of many of the crossings that make roads a rough ride for motorists, with a $450,000 project that is expected to start in September.

“It’s finally time we get the tracks out of there,” said Councilman Tej Maan. “We get a lot of complaints, including ourselves when we drive on them.”

All of the railroad facilities would be removed from crossings at Gray Avenue, Clark Avenue, Cooper Avenue and Tharp Road, as well as the track sections that run along Plumas Street, Bridge Street and Reeves Avenue. Stabler Lane tracks will also removed under a separate project.

Once the tracks and crossing arms are out, the crossings will be repaved with an asphalt concrete section.

The city is picking up costs of track removal. But Public Works Director George Musallam was hopeful that the city might be reimbursed for its costs by Union Pacific.

“We’ve had extensive dealings with Union Pacific,” said Musallam, who briefed the City Council on Tuesday. “I think we’re at a point where I think if there’s a desire to remove the railroad tracks, the city has to fund them.”

The council has been seeking to get the tracks removed for years.

“It’s been a long time coming that we get these railroad tracks out,” Mayor John Miller said at Tuesday’s council meeting, where the council approved bid advertisements for the project.

Some crossings on state highways are in Caltrans domain.

Tracks across Colusa Avenue are not included in the city project. The city is in talks with Caltrans to try and get them pulled up using Caltrans funding, said Musallam.

Tracks crossing Highway 99 would be removed as part of a Caltrans project there.

Appeal-Democrat reporter John Dickey can be reached at 749-4711. You may e-mail him at jdickey@appealdemocrat.com.