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They'll be working on the railroad
While it may not necessitate toiling all the live-long day, contractors will be working on the railroad, repairing the precipitous crossing at the southwest entrance to Greencastle sometime in the near future.
The first step toward repairing the South Jackson Street (Manhattan Road) crossing came as unanimous approval by the Greencastle Redevelopment Commission of a $35,000 preliminary engineering agreement with CSX Railroad.
Mayor Bill Dory explained to the Redevelopment Commission that $5,000 of that $35,000 represents contingency funds, while approval of the preliminary engineering agreement does not obligate the city to proceed with the project should the budget for the repair job "be outlandish."
The project is estimated at $750,000 to repair and widen the crossing from the Veterans Memorial Highway terminus at the bowling alley to the southern edge of the Phoenix Closures (formerly Greencastle Manufacturing) property.
The rail crossing has a big drop-off on the east side, and "in no way meets any kind of standards," Mayor Dory said.
Public Works Superintendent Brad Phillips has had to replace the guardrail there several times after cars or trucks hit it due to the narrow S-curve configuration of the crossing.
"It's a bad crossing," Mayor Dory said, noting that it was probably put in 150 years ago when the railroad first went through.
"It will still be an S-curve," he said of the planned repairs. "They can't take that out, but it will be widened."
Redevelopment members asked about the possibility of cross arms as a safety factor.
Flashing lights will be installed for certain, Dory said, adding "but I don't know if a gate will be warranted."
Signal facilities, however, namely evaluation and design, comprise the largest portion of the engineering contract, listed as a $20,000 job.
Nonetheless, the CSX crossing is part of a major route for persons commuting to and from Brazil and Terre Haute, as well as local traffic from the southwest portion of Putnam County.
City officials, however, don't expect any assistance with project costs from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT).
"We made a pretty strong attempt to see if INDOT funds would be available for this," Dory said, explaining that essentially not enough trains use the crossing to warrant the state helping fund its repair.
"It's a busy crossing for us," Dory said, "but not so, relative to other areas."
However, once the engineering gives way to final cost estimates, Dory plans to go back to INDOT once more "to see if any other funding sources are available."
Drew Brattain made the motion to approve the $35,000 preliminary engineering agreement, which was seconded by Lottie Barcus and made unanimous by Gary Lemon and Erika Gilmore.
The contract specifies that engineering work needs to be substantially complete by May 27 but does not provide any kind of construction timetable.
In other business, the commission granted 3D Professional Contracting Inc. an extension until May 27 with no additional funding attached to the delay in finishing the second phase of the facade project downtown. The project got a late start due to a state contract delay, city officials noted.
Warmer weather is needed for exterior painting, while some minor construction to the outside of Moore's Bar is still needed.
"They're getting real close to getting done," City Attorney Laurie Hardwick reported before the commission unanimously approved the extension.
Meanwhile, a memorandum of understanding between the Redevelopment Commission and the Wabash Valley YMCA was approved, basically as "an agreement to agree," Hardwick said.
The agreement basically gives Greencastle the final authority to decide whether or not to move forward with a community center project once YMCA officials have finished their analysis and evaluation of the possibility.
Commission member Gwen Morris was absent. Ex-officio member Denise Sigworth was also in attendance.
The Redevelopment Commission will next meet in regular session at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 27 at City Hall.