Railroad to be asked to pay for Ramona road work
Staff writer
Union Pacific Railroad soon will get a letter from county counsel Brad Jantz asking the company to pay for road improvement to allow traffic to bypass roadway at Ramona the railroad routinely blocks for as long as an hour at a time.
“This is not only an issue for cattle and grain semis and local traffic, but a major safety issue for fire, EMS, and law enforcement,” commissioner David Mueller said. “There have been multiple occasions when the crossing was blocked and public safety had to be dispatched from Dickinson County. This puts property and lives at risk.”
Mueller asked whether half a mile of 350th Rd. west from Quail Creek Rd. could be upgraded to make it safer for travel.
County engineer Brice Goebel estimated upgrading and graveling the road would cost $31,000.
Commissioners voted unanimously to send the letter expressing their concern and asking for reimbursement.
In other business, commissioners signed a contract with Hillsboro city council members for the future construction of an ambulance station, and signed a $25,000 settlement agreement to resolve a lawsuit filed by a Peabody woman who fell in the courthouse in 2018.