Fargo Forum

By David Olson

The city of Moorhead has been planning for a downtown railroad underpass since 1977, and it made eight unsuccessful attempts to apply for a federal grant to help pay for a project.

The city's ninth bid for federal dollars did the trick, however, and on Tuesday, Jan. 10, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., stopped in Moorhead to highlight about $26.3 million she helped secure for two railroad underpasses planned for 11th Street in downtown Moorhead.

"The check is in the mail," Klobuchar said at a news conference held at the Hjemkomst Center, which was also attended by Moorhead Mayor Shelly Carlson, Moorhead City Engineer Bob Zimmerman and Minnesota Department of Transportation Assistant District Engineer Justin Knopf.

Carlson said the work planned for 11th Street will be a game-changer when it comes to safety, particularly in the area of emergency response.

Construction on the project is expected to start in 2024, with completion sometime in 2026, officials said Tuesday, adding that the federal dollars, provided through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program, will help Moorhead improve safety and mobility and remove blockages caused by heavy train traffic .

Other dollars committed to the project include about $62 million from MnDOT, about $3.7 million from BNSF and about $3.5 million from Clay County and the city of Moorhead, according to Carlson.

Also Tuesday, Klobuchar talked about approximately $1 million in federal funding she helped secure to help Moorhead establish a Community Center for Entrepreneurship for developing small businesses and promoting job creation.

In addition, Klobuchar noted that approximately $2.25 million worth of federal resources have been secured for Minnesota State University Moorhead’s Yellow Ribbon Advance program, which supports veterans and service members as they earn degrees in critical industries that are experiencing a workforce shortage.

"We are very, very happy about the work going on here in Moorhead," Klobuchar said, adding that city officials have done a good job of promoting the community and securing funding resources to bring various projects to fruition.

Zimmerman said Moorhead has been working to establish a downtown railroad underpass since 1977, when a study acknowledged the need for such a project, which at the time would have cost about $9 million to construct.

"This effort has been very long term," said Zimmerman, who thanked Klobuchar "for her tireless advocacy that really delivers this project that has been almost 50 years in planning."

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