A rail spur project proposed to go into Wadena's industrial park is seeing some movement but it's still not a done deal.
The project has been in talks since the 2010 tornado. Leaf River Ag relocated to the industrial park and expressed need for rail access.
Support for the project has come from Sen. Amy Klobuchar over the years and Wadena Development Authority Director Dean Uselman is now working with Burlington Northern representatives on some final land acquisition pieces.
"I got some really good news on the rail spur project," Uselman said at a recent city council meeting. "Burlington Northern approved the plan that we have been volleying back and forth with them. Now hopefully things will move a little quicker going into the preparation for bidding and construction."
A southeast area street and utility project is linked to the rail project.
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"We still have to resolve an issue with property acquisition," Uselman said.
The original design of the k-line spur project showed a piece of land currently owned by Burlington Northern as being a loading area for trucks.
"We need to acquire that property from the railroad so we can make that transition from street to truck load area," he said. "Something that will work for forklifts to unload off of the railcars and put product on trucks without having to drive over curbs."
If that comes together, then Uselman said there's a possibility of another company that he has had communication with that could bring an expansion project to Wadena.
"It's been a long time coming - a really long time coming but it's exciting it's coming together," he said.
