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BNSF, La Crosse reach agreement on double track project
Why fill 7.2 acres of swamp?
Get a couple of pile drivers; build a trestle.
Even if it’s 4 miles long, it would probably (assuming concrete piles and concrete trestle work) would probably be cheaper than fill…and, likely more secure: the line across the slough between Suisun-Fairfield and Bahia, built on fill sinks… every year or so ballast, carloads of it, are dumped and the track gets raised…cuz’ the fill collapses and sinks a bit.
The bet’s off if the hard stuff of the swamp bottom is very deep.
A bridge builder OK’d a 3/8 inch standard of depression for a pile being sufficiently placed. I was told the bid was based on two, three, maybe part of four piggybacked 50 feet long piles would do it.
Many of the sites required 9 and part of 10. piles to attain that 3/8 inch depression per pile-driver hammer strike.
Fill is significantly cheaper, faster, and easier than pile driving. The bedrock in this part of the upper Midwest is near the surface thanks to the geologically recent glacial events of a few thousand years ago.
in Montana 1 track is going to be for Amtrak and bnsf is going to have the other two.
Seems like bnsf is giving up and spending a lot for four miles of double track. I’m sure scott walker was lurking at some point.
I’m pleased to see that BNSF was able to negotiate a compromise even though it seems expensive. I’d rather see BNSF capital go toward real improvements and solutions rather than lawyers and decisions by a third party in court. Good job on both sides of the negotiations - a compromise answer!
No more waiting for the train to be able to tee off over the ROW on hole #1 or approach the green on 18. Guess it’ll speed up play. 
BNSF certainly went above and beyond their means to do all these things for the city. That will save millions of dollars of senseless court lawsuits, although there will probably still be a fight over filling in the marshlands.
I live in Flagstaff, AZ, on the BNSF Southern Transcon. By far, the most noise made by the trains is from flat spots on the wheels pounding against the rails. This issue needs to be addressed. It is common on way too many freight cars.
Towns and citizens need to realize speed reduction does not reduce incidents… These groups should request/demand, more frequent detectors, hot box, dragging wheels, defective wheels etc. This would address many of the serious incidents that have occurred in the pas in the railroad industry. Also BNSF should work with OPL to increase education and enforcement of existing laws in the area. Public needs to understand that trains do not stop on a dime, and can not swerve out of the way.