The New Iberia City Council received an update on several railroad crossing projects by the state Department of Transportation and Development at Tuesday’s regular meeting.

State Sen. Fred Mills, R-Parks, and state Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, both addressed the City Council to give a formal reading of a letter DOTD had sent the Iberia delegation after the city council requested clarification about the projects in January.

“We’ve been communicating back and forth and a letter was written on behalf of the Iberia delegation to DOTD saying that we’d like to know the bucket of funding and the timeline,” Mills said.

According to that letter, the close proximity of many of the existing crossings has posed a unique engineering and construction challenge, and has required that the proposed crossing improvements be designed and built as a single system in lieu of independent crossings.

Work on Julia Street, Iberia Street and Weeks Street have been combined into a single project by DOTD, with the design phase completed ahead of schedule and moved up to the current fiscal year for construction.

Approximately $1.5 million in federal funds for the signals has already been authorized, according to the letter, with project leaders currently waiting for BNSF Railway to acquire the right-of-way for the signal control box.

Another project that will raise the tracks for Louisiana 14, Center and French streets has also finished its engineering design phase, and BNSF is currently finishing the engineering design of the track raising and associated roadway approach adjustments. The engineering design is expected to be complete within the first quarter of 2020, according to BNSF. The project itself is scheduled for the 2021 fiscal year but may be moved up depending upon BNSF’s engineering design and related agreement execution.

The closing of the Caroline Street railroad was also on the list, and is currently scheduled in the Railroad Safety Program for the 2021 fiscal year. The recommended closure of that railroad came from a review performed by DOTD and BNSF, however the New Iberia City Council has been opposed to the closure.

Councilwoman Deidre Ledbetter said at the meeting the Caroline Street closure could prove troublesome for a nearby nursing home facility.

“We sent a letter saying we didn’t want that particular crossing to close mainly because the nursing home on Adrian and Bayard streets has a new rehab part to it, and Caroline Street is a straight shot to it,” Ledbetter said.

The letter said that DOTD will continue to coordinate with the city of New Iberia concerning the future of the crossing.

“I’ll be able to help y’all reiterate that concern (to DOTD),” Beallieu said to Ledbetter.

Councilman David Broussard, who has been spearheading the railroad improvements for years, said that he was pleased with the outcome of the timeline and the work done thus far.

“DOTD engineered a solution that will increase safety for citizens and public officials who conduct business at the courthouse,” Broussard said.