The federal government would pay for 80 percent of the crossing consolidation project, with the state accounting for 15 percent. The board opted to designate the V Road and Highway 34 crossing as one that should receive lights and crossarms because of safety concerns with driving off the highway to it, he said. There isn't much room. He said he thought placing stop signs at the other four crossings would help alleviate a safety problem. At a public meeting on May 10 in Aurora, a few county residents expressed concerns about putting more anhydrous ammonia tanks and farm equipment on Highway 34 and creating a traffic hazard.
Most people are pretty cautious.
We haven't had many accidents at railroad crossings. A couple of county residents who attended Monday's meeting said they were pleased with the board's counterproposal, he said. Sherman said he hopes the Roads Department and the railroad will consider making the changes. When they met at the Bremer Center, they were a little more lenient on what they were expecting. Rosenthal said he had yet to see the changes the county board had proposed.