City opens public hearing on vacating portion of Anaconda Road to remove hazardous railroad crossing; Modot offering $100,000 for barricades
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Summary
Staff presented a public hearing and recommended vacating a 100.02-by-85-foot portion of Anaconda Road within the Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad right-of-way; state railroad division and MODOT offered $100,000 to install barricades to close the crossing pending integration with the South Commercial Street extension project.
The Board of Aldermen opened a public hearing July 21 on an application to vacate a portion of the Anaconda Road right-of-way that lies within the Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad corridor. The hearing was closed the same evening and the ordinance will return for a second reading Aug. 4.
Planning staff described the portion under consideration as 100.02 feet by 85 feet as shown on the exhibit in the meeting packet; staff said the road has existed for more than 100 years and was annexed into the city in 1972. Notices were mailed to adjacent property owners on June 24 and the proposal was published in the Tribune Times on June 12, staff said. No objections were received by staff before the hearing.
City staff and public-works staff explained the requested vacation is related to an effort to close a dangerous at-grade railroad crossing. Public-works staffer Carl (last name not specified in the transcript) told aldermen the crossing is dangerous because east‑to‑west sight lines are poor and drivers must pull onto the tracks to see oncoming trains; staff said there had been a fatality at that crossing within the last five years.
Carl said the Missouri Department of Transportation’s railroad division offered $100,000 to provide barricades for both sides of the crossing if the city vacates the right-of-way, and that the barricades would be placed before the South Commercial Street extension is complete. The South Commercial extension project was described as a related project that staff hopes will be designed, advertised and bid this year with construction in 2026.
Carl said the city prefers to accept the MODOT funds and proceed with the vacation to remove the unsafe crossing and allow the department to use its railroad maintenance dollars elsewhere. No member of the public spoke during the hearing. The ordinance for the vacation will be brought back for a second reading at the Aug. 4 meeting.