Sparking Investment with Rail Crossing Consolidation

This project demonstrates the success of community-driven planning that involves partnering with a major railroad to result in solutions supported by the community, rail, and funding agencies.

For this project, the City of West Plains commissioned a city-wide study with significant public outreach, with the goal of eliminating multiple at-grade crossings in the city. CMT also reviewed West Plains’ entire transportation network and economic development options.

The study prioritized and determined the feasibility of at-grade closures with the need for future overpass locations throughout the city limits to further enhance long-term safety benefits for the community, resulting in a $25 million program. The study also included a comprehensive review of the entire transportation network, emergency response time, and economic development opportunities generated from an extensive community-involvement process.

In addition, the city is also home to one of the largest military equipment manufacturers in the Midwest. CMT’s collaborative approach in bringing key stakeholders to the table resulted in a plan that opens better and safer roadway access to its 100-acre manufacturing facility. This would involve the reconstruction of US Highway 160 over Howell Creek and the BNSF Railway that CMT has designed. The solution provided in the study resulted in the confidence of the manufacturer Leonardo DRS Technologies to expand their campus and add 600 new jobs to the community.