Railroad wants to pay Orion $50,000

Burlington Northern Santa Fe would prefer Orion not object to tearing down the 13th Avenue bridge.

Toward that end, the railroad has offered to pay the village $50,000, as well as install signal crossing arms at all three crossings in town, Village President Jim Cooper announced at the village board meeting on Monday, Jan. 4.

“We’ve fought for almost three years now,” he said. “We’ve done everything we can to get the railroad to repair it or replace it. It’s time to punt.”

Trustees discussed the railroad’s proposal in executive session at the end of the meeting, but they took no action.

For additional details, see the Jan. 8 issue of the Orion Gazette.