By Brandi Makuski

A proposed overpass on Country Club Drive/Hoover Avenue could begin construction by 2016.

The project is a new priority for the city, said Mayor Andrew Halverson, more so than the much- debated Business 51 project for which city leaders had trouble gaining public support. That project will still move forward at some point but Halverson said for now, it’s on the “back burner”.

Officials from the Stevens Point-based AECOM gave city leaders an overview of four alternatives for the project designed to improve traffic flow at the Canadian National train crossing on Hoover Avenue including walled or sloped underpasses and overpasses with costs ranging from $12.3 million to more than $20 million.

The train crossing, which sees 6,000 cars and 30 trains each day, is the top source of traffic complaints in the city, according to Halverson, and also presents safety issues for Stevens Point Fire Station No. 2, which stands only blocks from the crossing.

Fire Chief Tracey Kujawa said the department once kept track of how many fire/EMS calls had to be rerouted due to the train, but stopped several years ago.

“We had been pushing for something to change at that train crossing, whether it was an overpass or underpass,” Kujawa said last week. “Looking at how what should have been a 30- second call turning into a 6 or 7 minute call, we thought, would have helped make those changes, but it never materialized, so we stopped keeping track.”

The least expensive alternative is a sloped overpass costing $12.3 million and could be approved by the City Council in May, with a completion date sometime in 2017. The price tag, according to AECOM, includes contingency, right-of-way, property acquisition and design planning costs.

Halverson said city leaders had always assumed the project costs would be out of reach, but the relatively low price tag of the sloped overpass option was “eye- opening”.

“Given the sheer magnitude of an overpass it was going to be unfeasible given the amount of property acquisition that would be required, we assumed our only option was ever going to be an underpass. At $18- $22 million, that was financially going to be impossible, regardless of funding opportunities or partnerships, just given the sheer price tag,” Halverson said.

Halverson added the improvements would have a direct impact on the thousands of jobs in the immediate area and would boost safety by removing ambulance delays at the crossing.

Infill for the slopes on either side of the overpass could come from McDill Pond, which was refilled last spring and still needs dredging. Halverson said he’s already spoken with Lake District President Jack Negaard about using sediment from the pond but more details need to be worked out.

Some of those details will be provided during the public informational meeting outlining the project. The meeting happens at Spectra Print, 2301 Country Club Drive, on May 6 at 5:30 PM. A week later City Council Members will have to consider whether to use $6 million earmarked for the Bus. 51 project, as well as a $2.7 million grant, for the overpass.