After several months of negotiations the City of Meridian and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad have reached an agreement to make much-needed repairs to the 29th Avenue railroad crossing.

In an April 18 meeting, Assistant Public Works Director Mike Van Zandt told the City Council teams from both the city and the railroad had agreed on a contract and work on the crossing was ready to begin.

The city is contributing $175,000 to the project, he said.

CPKC Director of Corporate Communications Doniele Carlson said in a prepared statement the project will include an overhaul of the crossing including the crossing surfaces themselves and road approaches for both sets of railroad tracks.

Carlson said CPKC and the City of Meridian “are working together on a project to rehabilitate the at-grade railroad crossing at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Drive-29th Avenue, which includes installation of a new concrete crossing surface on both sets of tracks and new approaches to the crossing.”

Carlson said plans for the project are still being developed, but the road will need to be closed for several days during a portion of the construction. A timeline for the construction and potential detour routes are also being drawn up.

“A construction date and detour plan for the closure, which will be approved by the city, is not yet finalized, but we expect the project to be completed this year,” Carlson said.

While the city is contributing funding, CPKC is leading the design and construction part of the project to make sure it meets railroad safety standards.