Work has begun on the second line of tracks being built through the heart of Big Lake this week with the closing of Co. Rd. 43 South.

 

Crews have begun tearing out the crossing in preparation for Burlington Northern to come along with their track-laying machine. 

 

Once the new set of tracks is laid, the crossing will be restored and made passable to traffic as soon as possible.

 

The track machine lays about one mile of track per day. The tracks are inspected four or more times per week to make sure there are no defects or cracks in the rails. 

 

The rails are also subject to extremes of temperature in Minnesota’s climate and can expand and contract with the heat and the cold, causing welds to pop, which must be detected and repaired.

 

The intersection at Eagle Lake Road South is next on the agenda and has already been closed. Once these crossings have been completed, it will be the turn of Hwy. 25 to close while the second rail is reconstructed.

 

Although the line of tracks runs closer to some houses and businesses in Big Lake than they are used to, the rail has only been replaced where it was when if was torn up years ago as a “cost-saving measure.”

 

The theory was since the line didn’t get as much use at that time, BNSF would save money on maintenance. The single line of track has limited options ever since, a situation which worsened steadily since Sherco developed, requiring tons of coal on a daily basis, and the North Dakota oil fields have added greatly to the freight hauled on a regular basis through small towns like those of Sherburne County.

 

BNSF hopes to alleviate some of the stress on other areas of the system, such as the Northtown rail yards, by rebuilding this track.

 

The second set of tracks will also be essential to any plan to take the Northstar Corridor Commuter Train all the way to St. Cloud as orignally planned.

 

Because the tracks ended in Big Lake, the maintenance facility for the line was built here and all the trains come back to Big Lake on a regular basis for cleaning and maintaining.

 

In Becker this week, crews closed Co Rd 11 and Liberty Lane, leading to the industrial park, preparing that intersection for the two-track program.