Dakota County Officials Turn Up the Pressure on Railroad Over Trail Construction

Dakota County stands to lose $1 million in federal grant funding for the development of the Mississippi River Regional Trail if they can't bring Union Pacific Railroad to the negotiating table by the end of the month.

That's the message Dakota County Parks Department representative Bruce Blair gave the Rosemount City Council on Tuesday night, during an progress update for the 27-mile regional trail, which county officials hope will eventually extend from St. Paul to Hastings.

Much of the trail has already been constructed, and county officials have now turned their focus to a 3.8-mile section of the trail that passes through the northeast corner of Rosemount. But county officials have been stymied by the railroad, which owns land along the proposed trail route, Blair said.

The county's plans include two railroad crossings—and Union Pacific, which has concerns about the crossings, has not yet signed off on easements that would allow construction to proceed. Other private landholders, including Flint Hills Resources, have cooperated with the county's trail development, Blair noted in his 20-minute presentation.

“They have serious concerns about the use of their property," Blair said. "It's their policy not to cooperate."

County officials estimate construction of the 27-mile trail will cost a total of $3.2 million, roughly one-third of which would be paid for by a federal transportation grant. The regional trail has been under development since 1999.

The deadline for the federal grant funding is late June, which gives the county little time to reach an agreement with Union Pacific. Railroad representatives are scheduled to meet with county administrators on Thursday, Blair said, but the outcome of the meeting is far from certain. The county hopes to complete the grant by 2015.

"We have full court press on with the Union Pacific railroad," Blair said. "We simply are not going to give up until something happens, until there’s some way to get the trail through there, because there is no alternative."

When asked by Rosemount City Council member Mark DeBettignies what happens if the county doesn't reach an agreement in time, Blair gave a pragmatic response.

"No one wants to lose a million dollar grant, but we cannot change the deadline," said Blair. However, the county could always reapply next grant cycle, he added.