Elevated Railroad Topic Of Thursday Claremore Town Hall Meeting

The on again and off again project to build an elevated railroad track in Claremore is apparently is now back on again.

The Claremore City Council will host a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, December 1, 2011 at City Hall at 104 South Muskogee to discuss the $52 million project.

Claremore city officials say the Oklahoma Department of Transportation has secured $30 million in federal and state funds for the project.

In addition, ODOT has paid for and completed the engineering and environmental analysis on the project.

BNSF Railroad says it has also committed to contribute, though the amount has yet to be determined.

ODOT has now applied for a TIGER 3 grant on behalf of the City of Claremore. If ODOT gets this grant, they will contribute another $5 million.

Read the ODOT TIGER 3 grant application.

This leaves the city of Claremore's share at $2 million according to Claremore executive officer Cassie Woods.

Woods says studies show an elevated rail is the only feasible way to proceed with the project. The city has ruled out overpasses and underpasses because of right of way issues.

The Thursday evening meeting is to explain the status of the project, discuss the funding issues and get input from residents on whether this is something Claremore needs to move forward with. ODOT and the engineering firm which designed the project will also be at the meeting.

See a map/drawing of the proposed project.

2/26/2009 Related Story: House Approves Funding For Claremore Railroad Project