Crossing arms to be installed at two Cass railroad crossings

WALKER -- The Cass County Board approved an agreement Tuesday with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and the Commissioner of Transportation to install railroad flashing light signals, gates and circuitry at crossings on Cass County State Aid Highways 36 and 31.

Only the east CSAH 36 crossing signal will be installed this fall, along with the CSAH 31 (formerly County Road 101) crossing. County Engineer David Enblom said the west CSAH 36 crossing signal will not be installed until the next funding cycle in 2005.

Both CSAH 36 crossings have been the scene of a serious collision within the last month between an Anderson Brothers Construction truck and a train.

The board awarded a repaving contract for CSAH 36 and 31 to Tri-City Paving. Their $1,213,728.17 bid was the lowest of three received. It ran 0.23 percent over engineering estimates.

CSAH 36 lies east of Pillager. CSAH 31 runs west from the city of Pillager.

Road construction is expected to begin within three weeks.

In other news, the board:

Authorized Enblom to spend up to $10,000 to replace the Birch Lake dam at Hackensack and to accept $1,000 the Ten Mile Lake Association has pledged toward the project. This dam, which manages water levels in Ten Mile, Birch and Pleasant Lakes, has been controversial since the 1920s.