Cookeville officials believe the meeting Wednesday with the owner of the local rail line went well.
Cookeville wants to create a new railroad crossing at Oak Avenue to help realign traffic. City Manager James Mills said the meeting with RJ Corman was productive.
“We did find out yesterday (that) we were required to submit an application for the new crossing to RJ Corman,” Mills said. “They sent that application to me yesterday. We completed it and submitted it yesterday.”
Mills said RJ Corman has committed to making a decision on the proposed crossing within the next 30 days. He noted the railroad operator still has numerous questions, as its policy generally prohibits approving new crossings.
“I can understand their concerns about safety and maintenance, but this crossing is the linchpin to the entire plans that we have for 39 Depot (Street),” Mills said. “We will plan to close part of West Broad (Street) and redirect traffic, and without this connection for Oak (Avenue) none of that will be able to occur. We are hopeful that they will grant approval and allow us to have the crossing.”
Mills said the city is holding off on progressing plans for the crossing until RJ Corman makes a decision.
Mills said the Nashville-Eastern Railroad Authority executive and full boards unanimously approved the request, subject to final approval from RJ Corman.
Mills said the public should care about this proposal as it would be a major investment in the downtown area.
“It’s an area for lots of small businesses to operate, and this would encourage more people to come into the downtown, you know, provide opportunities for recreation,” Mills said. “So we believe it could be a massive improvement for our central part of the city.”