City working on options for gate at railroad crossing BNSF intends to expand for Calumet
City officials are working on plans for a crossing at 4th Street Northeast, near the wastewater treatment plant, since BNSF Railway has exercised its right to close it to public access.
Calumet Montana Refining and BNSF Railway approached the city in December 2024 about a proposal to expand the railroad from one to three tracks from Calumet to about the Stockman Bank area, at West Bank Park.
BNSF property cuts off a city street and under a 1960/1975 agreement, the city is supposed to control public access at the 4th Street Northeast crossing and BNSF is allowed to close it with 30 days notice, according to the city.
Chris Gaub, city public works director, said during a January commission work session that neither the city or BNSF had been controlling the 4th Street Northeast crossing, which provides access to the wastewater treatment plant, septic receiving station, emergency/spill response access for the fire department, a sewer main and West Bank Park and the River’s Edge Trail, as well as the 4th of July fireworks staging area.
In July, City Commissioners voted to approve an agreement with Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, AE2S, not to exceed $127,870 for engineering services for a city wastewater treatment plant access gate.
The project includes designing and building a single access gate on 4th Street Northeast “to improve public safety and limit access through Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) property. BNSF is in the process of expanding this section of railroad track from one single track to three track lanes,” according to the July staff report.
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City staff and BNSF personnel have been discussing the crossing and loss of city park access since the existing access to West Bank Park at the 4th Street Northeast crossing doesn’t have a ‘conforming right-of-way and will be eliminated,” according to city staff.
The proposed access gate will allow city staff to access the wastewater treatment plant and public access to West Bank Park will be directed to the main access point at 3rd Avenue Northwest.
According to city documents, construction of the new gate at 4th Street Northeast will depend on the “removal of a prioritized project” from the capital improvement plan to allocate funding.
In March, a spokesperson for BNSF told The Electric that the 1975 agreement for the at-grade crossing at 4th Street Northeast doesn’t allow it to be used as a public crossing and that BNSF and city officials discussed the safest way to maintain access to the wastewater treatment plant “given plans being considered for additional tracks and rail activity at this location.”
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During the Aug. 19 City Commission meeting, City Manager Greg Doyon said that city staff was working through the project with BNSF officials and that it will take time for any structure to be constructed.
He said no trespassing signage will be added by BNSF along the crossing and that the city would likely complement that with signage indicating authorized vehicles only and blocking the parking lot by the River’s Edge Trail to minimize unauthorized traffic.
Commissioner Rick Tryon asked who would pay for the signage and gate.
Doyon said the city would have to pay for it and he was unaware of any BNSF contributions toward the project.
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During the January city commission work session, Doyon said it’s a situation with limited options and a big price tag and “I’m not sure how we’re going to pay.”
In July, Doyon told The Electric that BNSF had advised the city to provide a gate-design that would limit access across the tracks and that the city was exploring options and costs.
In January, city staff said that BNSF’s track addition was discussed previously but didn’t progress and would be needed regardless of the expansion being funded by Calumet’s recent $1.44 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The proposed project is an estimated 18-24 months, expanding that stretch from one to three tracks, eliminating one switch per day to increase business efficiency, reduce truck traffic and potentially eliminate the 11 p.m. horn downtown, according to information provided by Calumet and BNSF to the city and shared publicly in January.
A gravel road that runs from West Bank Park to the 4th Street Northeast crossing is primarily on BSNF property, Gaub said, but provides access for city employees for park maintenance.
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If the road is shifted, Gaub said the city has concerns regarding playground safety, proximity to the restrooms, a powerline, water service line and irrigation lines.
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The city’s concerns for the crossing closure in West Bank Park include whether there’s adequate space for a new access road, playground and bathroom safety and access and River’s Edge Trail access.
Just beyond the railroad crossing is a small parking lot with access to the River’s Edge Trail.
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The crossing is also used for spill/outfall response access and monitoring environmental wells at the wastewater treatment plant, and private utility access for power and gas around Calumet, there’s a storm drain outfall in West Bank Park as well.
Gaub said in January that there are roughly 50 trips a day over the 4th Street Northeast crossing for city employees, chemical deliveries, plant maintenance and Republic Services stops at the plant several times a day to empty solid waste.
There’s also a septic receiving station at the plant with 12 permitted users. The station is open daily year-round with an average of four trips per day and there’s no alternative location in Cascade County, Gaub said.
A city storm drain outfall at 16th Avenue Northwest would be expensive to extend or move and it’s uncertain if there’s enough space for the new tracks and a new access road, according to staff. That could also require involvement from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The city pays an annual fee for utility lines that encroach on BNSF property and the crossing provides emergency response access to the area, he said.
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In January, Gaub walked commissioners through the options being discussed, all of which are expensive for the city though price estimates are notional:
- install a gate with access control such as sound/chimes and/or a key pad for an estimated $2 million. It’s the lowest cost option, retains park space and emergency access but there’s the risk of railcars blocking the gate and lose public parking for the trail
- construct a new road from West Bank Park to the wastewater treatment plant for an estimated $5 million, which retains public vehicle access to the park, but is costly to address floodplain issues, adjusting the stormwater outfall, build strong enough to handle heavy trucks, park would lose land and change the character of the district
- combination of the two for an estimated $7 million to use the gate for emergency and construction access and the road for daily use by employees, sanitation, septage customers, mail delivery, etc.
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“We need more industry,” Commissioner Joe McKenney said in January and that they the city should be good neighbors to Calumet and BNSF.
He said that Calumet needs three rails and “it just seems to me that choke point just needs more oversight than what it has now,” whether that was an automated or manned gate.
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