UPDATE: Sartell Approves Financial Backing For Quiet Zone At Sartell/Sauk Rapids Township Rail Crossing

SARTELL -- Financial backing to make a rail crossing along the border of Sartell and Sauk Rapids Township a quiet zone has received approval from the Sartell city council.

This (Monday) evening the council unanimously approved their share of the funding to make the rail crossing at the intersection of Benton County Highway 55 and Northeast River Road a quiet zone.

The project will cost just over $62,000 for the construction cost and engineering costs.

With the approval, the city will be responsible for covering $42,000, with Sauk Rapids Township and private donations will covering about $20,000. However the amount Sartell is responsible for could go down based on fundraising efforts by the private donors.

Making the crossing a quiet zone has been in discussion since 2007, after residents have been raising concerns with the noise from the trains that pass by.

City Administrator Mary Degiovanni says construction on the project could start later this summer, depending on when final bids and construction designs are approved.