There may be some good news for the city of Columbus as officials continue to work on how to deal with a massive increase in train traffic. Improvements to the railroad lines through the city are currently underway with an increase in traffic expected to begin in 2018. Once fully implemented, the number of trains running through Columbus on a daily basis are expected to increase more than six-fold. In addition to the increase in traffic, the weight and length of trains will increase as well, with train-lengths expected to go up by nearly 50 percent. All of these factors are expected to drastically increase waiting times for vehicles at railroad crossings, ultimately damaging Columbus’ economy.

During Monday’s meeting of the Columbus Redevelopment Commission, John Dorenbush, a member of the Railroad Community Committee, offered a glimpse of good news. Dorenbush says that, for the first time, the committee is “optimistic” that a proposed project to construct an overpass that would take vehicle traffic over the tracks at State Road 11 and State Road 46 will be approved by the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Dorenbush says that on June 8, representatives from the city, county, INDOT, Cummins, CSX and the Louisville & Indiana Railroad met to discuss the issue. He says that everyone involved is optimistic that the project will be included in INDOT’s five-year plan. The issue, says Dorenbush, is funding. In addition, he says that if the project were approved, it would likely be on the tail-end of the five-year plan, meaning that work wouldn’t begin until approximately 2022. However, Dorenbush opined that the city could help move the project up on the timeline by contributing more that 20-percent of the cost. He noted that most projects like this have a requirement that local municipalities pay 20-percent. Dorenbush suggested that the work could begin earlier if the city were to contribute more than the usual minimum. However, he stressed that he was merely speculating.

Dorenbush says that the same group will be meeting again in a few weeks. If all goes well, he says that he is hopeful that a positive announcement will be made before Independence Day.