(The following story by Jamie Mock appeared on the Southwest Sun website on June 21.)
FORT BEND, Texas –After five years of meetings, Stafford is close to a finalized tri-party agreement with the Union Pacific Railroad Company and the Texas Department of Trans-portation allowing the city and TxDOT to purchase land for the US 90A railroad relocation project.
The project, meant to address safety and mobility issues, began after a train overturned more than 1,000 tons of materials onto US 90A in December of 1998.
The projects include multiple underpasses and an overpass over Dulles and Kirkwood. The railroad will be moved 100 feet north from Kirkwood, and both North and South Main will be expanded, replacing the current asphalt and open ditch construction with concrete curb, gutter and storm sewers.
Stafford Mayor Leonard Sca-rcella says the agreement may be finalized and presented to council for approval as early as June 30, after a June 28 meeting with TxDOT.
“Basically, we are missing a concurrence of Union Pacific Railroad, and them blessing it and saying this is good, we will sign it,” says Scarcella.
“That is the main missing element, all the other aspects of it can be finalized in a very short period of time, a matter of days or even hours, but getting Union Pacific’s final consent is what is so critical.”
Scarcella says he hopes that council taking the initiative to sign the agreement will spur the other two parties into action.
“We are hoping to agree with them on the terms, then sign off, saying we made the full commitment, this is what you said you would accept, now you make your full commitment,” says Scarcella.
Union Pacific agreed to the project on the grounds that they would spend no money to make it happen.
Scarcella says Union Pacific would not agree to a plan unless Texas Industries found it acceptable, which prompted the city to pay TXI $2 million to revamp their loading station, which frequently caused trains to sit on the tracks, backing up traffic.
“All of it (loading of freight) can occur within their properties (with the new plan), so you won’t have the side tracks that are currently being utilized right of Murphy Road and Right of Stafford Road,” says Scarcella.
“Basically what we are doing is buying their right-of-way and paying them to change their situation and eliminate some of the other distractions and undesirable use of the tracks.”
TxDOT originally planned a $72 million project for the area that would have added three overpasses to US 90A, widened the roadway and kept the tracks where they are now. The city of Stafford offered to pitch in $8 million for the revised project, with an additional $2.25 million from Fort Bend County mobility bonds, some of which will be used for drainage.
“They (TxDOT) felt this $82 million plan was far superior to their $72 million plan, so they have been very supportive and helpful,” says Scarcella.
Scarcella says the project will create a “town-square” area between North and South Main, hopefully encouraging economic growth for the city while also enhancing the city’s aesthetics.
“Not only will we able to make all of those improvements and enhancements with that $8 million, we will be able to significantly improve and enhance and hopefully spur a strong economic development within those neatly planned plaza type of area that will be between north and south main,” says Scarcella.
“Something very enticing, very business friendly. It will makes a neat town center of the kind not fabricated, but simply evolves as this project develops.”
Construction is estimated to start in early spring of 2005, and take three years to complete.