Clay County approves letter backing MDOT rail safety grant despite unclear local crossing

The Clay County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a letter supporting an MDOT application to the Federal Rail Administration’s Railroad Crossing Safety Program, even though staff could not identify which county crossing MDOT had included in its District 4 application.

Justin Sorum, county engineer, said MDOT's application lists eight crossings in District 4 and that one crossing is in the county, but he had been unable to identify which crossing was included. "I was not able to find that," Sorum said. Commissioners and staff agreed it was still appropriate to support the application and stressed the importance of learning the specific crossing so they could respond to landowner questions and track potential impacts.

Commissioner Kavanagh moved to approve the letter of support; Commissioner Bear seconded and the board approved the motion by voice vote. Commissioner Campbell asked staff to reach out to MDOT to confirm the crossing location; staff said a voicemail had been left with the applicant and agreed to forward any information to county staff when it became available.

The board's approval records the county's support for MDOT's safety upgrades but does not itself authorize county funding or specify which crossing will be upgraded. MDOT typically coordinates cost-sharing between railroads and road agencies for signal and arm upgrades; the transcript records that such upgrades were described as updating crossing arms and signs.