DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Highway 61 correspondence and documents, 1968-1974 | 1974-12-20 H.E. Gunnerson to Mr. James Frazier Page 16

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Highway 61 correspondence and documents, 1968-1974

1974-12-20 H.E. Gunnerson to Mr. James Frazier Page 16

-5-

This DOT proposal looks good on paper but there is one question left unanswered - where do you put the railroad tracks? naturally this particular DOT alternative would have many of the same advantages as route 4A and it would require fewer families to be relocated. Another advantage is that there would not be any families living south of the proposed highway. The relocation of the railroad tracks would admittedly be extremely expensive. However only thirty-eight families would have to be relocated.

Starting on the east end of this proposed route and proceeding to the west, it would first appear that this alternative might work. There seems to be enough land for both the railroad tracks and highway.

The proposal appears to be feasible until it reaches 27th Street. The area from 27th to 35th Street south of the Burlington Northern railroad tracks includes industries and railroad switch yards and not far away is the Mississippi River. There simply isn't enough land to locate both the highway and the railroad tracks at a feasible cost. An examination of a Fort Madison map will bear this out. However using this basic concept the City has developed a proposal which will be explained in this report.

There is still one more location where it would be very difficult to relocate the railroad tracks. This is in the 1100 and 1200 block area of the proposed relocation. The DOT proposal is unclear as to whether the railroad tracks from 10th Street east would also be relocated to the south. If the Burlington Northern railroad tracks were shifted to the south from 2nd to 10th Street then the tracks would be located in Riverview Park. Because of the scenic beauty of this park, any such relocation in this area would likely be unacceptable to the people of Fort Madison.

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-5- This DOT proposal looks good on paper but there is one question left unanswered - where do you put the railroad tracks? naturally this particular DOT alternative would have many of the same advantages as route 4A and it would require fewer families to be relocated. Another advantage is that there would not be any families living south of the proposed highway. The relocation of the railroad tracks would admittedly be extremely expensive. However only thirty-eight families would have to be relocated. Starting on the east end of this proposed route and proceeding to the west, it would first appear that this alternative might work. There seems to be enough land for both the railroad tracks and highway. The proposal appears to be feasible until it reaches 27th Street. The area from 27th to 35th Street south of the Burlington Northern railroad tracks includes industries and railroad switch yards and not far away is the Mississippi River. There simply isn't enough land to locate both the highway and the railroad tracks at a feasible cost. An examination of a Fort Madison map will bear this out. However using this basic concept the City has developed a proposal which will be explained in this report. There is still one more location where it would be very difficult to relocate the railroad tracks. This is in the 1100 and 1200 block area of the proposed relocation. The DOT proposal is unclear as to whether the railroad tracks from 10th Street east would also be relocated to the south. If the Burlington Northern railroad tracks were shifted to the south from 2nd to 10th Street then the tracks would be located in Riverview Park. Because of the scenic beauty of this park, any such relocation in this area would likely be unacceptable to the people of Fort Madison.