Greenfield’s multi-million dollar railroad rehabilitation project is moving along with most of the crossings along the village’s rail line complete, as reported by Greenfield City Manager Ron Coffey on Wednesday during a regular meeting of Greenfield Village Council.
As previously reported, the railroad improvements began in early June with the crossing repairs and 24 of them slated for rehab.
All but seven crossings have been repaired so far, Coffey said. Six of those are in Clinton County and one in Greenfield at Sixth Street.
Following the completion of the crossing repairs, Coffey said the work will be focused on rehabilitating the bridge across Paint Creek, which has seen two derailments in recent years.
Crosstie installation is also complete along the whole of the 29-mile rail spur, Coffey said.
Coffey also reported that “dead and dying” trees located in the downtown area have been removed.
“An effort will be made to plant new trees this fall,” Coffey said, with grant funding being sought for the project.
On a related matter, two Tree Commission members whose terms were expired were reappointed by council members to new three-year terms. Those reappointed were Patsy Smith and Kandace Wilson.
Coffey also discussed McClain’s upcoming centennial celebration set for Labor Day weekend, Sept. 4-6. For more information, go to mcclain100.org.
In other business, Shari Royse-Bellar and Debra Crago, both of the Desha Company through which the Greenfield Subway is owned, and Highland County Community Action Director Julia Wise, were slated to appear before council in favor of a section of Second Street, which lies between Jefferson and Mirabeau streets, being open to two-way traffic instead of the current one-way traffic.
Community Action’s Head Start and the Subway restaurant are each in the immediate area, and the parties have previously discussed safety concerns as one reason for proposing the change.
According to Coffey on Thursday, council was advised by law director Brian Zets that an ordinance making that portion of Second Street two-way for a trial period should be done by way of an ordinance. That ordinance is expected to come before council at its next meeting in September, Coffey said.
Reach Angela Shepherd at 937-393-3456, ext. 1681, or on Twitter @wordyshepherd.
