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By MACKENZEE SIMMS | Staff Writer 

HELENA – Representatives from the city of Pelham asked the Helena City Council for an estimated $1.5 million to contribute to the Railroad Crossing Elimination Project on Shelby County Road 52 at a Helena City Council meeting on Monday, Nov. 26.

The city of Pelham received a $41,766,038 grant from the US Department of Transportation in order to permanently close two CSX railroad crossings on CR-52 at Lee Street. This road is a vital link between Helena and Pelham and connects both cities to Interstate 65.

According to Pelham Director of Development Services and Public Works Andre Bittas, the city of Pelham chose to apply for the grant for this particular project to decrease traffic for residents of both cities and to improve the response times for first responders in these areas.

“The purpose of that grant was, initially, is to fund highway rail for pathway redirect crossing improvement projects that focuses on improving safety and mobility of people and goods,” Bittas said. “Of course, when that came out, we realized that we have perfect crossing to apply for, and this crossing is really CR-52. There’s actually two rails that cross that track, so that really create a lot of issues for us, from safety and from access and response time to public safety as well.

The project will add addition capacity to CR-52 through adding extra lanes, as well as realigning CR-52 itself. With the total overall estimated cost of the project at $52,410,313, the grant covers 80 percent of the cost with the remaining funding being covered by committed funding partners of Pelham, Helena, Shelby County and CSX.

The city of Pelham, as the overall project manager, is still in discussion with Shelby County and CSX to divvy up the remaining $10,644,275 local match. Currently, it is estimated that Shelby County will contribute 35 percent of the local match and CSX contributing 30 percent of the local match.

This would leave the city of Pelham contributing roughly $2 million and the city of Helena contributing $1.5 million. According to Pelham City Manager Gretchen DiFante, the two cities would need to have the money ready by January 2026.

“We anticipate that our negotiations with ALDOT and CSX would be completed in the spring,” DiFante said. “Now, as far as timing goes, when we would need the funds would be first quarter of 2026, so January of 2026. What we are asking is for the Helena City Council to commit to funds in your budget for next year to be available for January 2026.”

When the city of Pelham finishes negotiations with Shelby County and CSX in the spring, the numbers for the project will be finalized. DiFante shared that Pelham will continue to negotiate for the best deal for all parties involved.