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V:\Projects\2023\123.0443.01A\Administration\Memo_2023-09-21_OverpassOptions.docm
Memorandum
To: Anthony Heddlesten, City of Riverdale
Brent Morlok, City of Bettendorf
Date: September 21, 2023
From: Cindy Spencer, P.E.
Wade Greiman, P.E.
RE: CPKC Railroad Overpass Options
Arconic is one of several businesses along the Riverdale and Bettendorf riverfront between Duck
Creek and 62nd Street in Bettendorf that are required to be accessed via an at-grade crossing of the
CPKC Railroad tracks. Arconic is the largest of these businesses, employing thousands of people
in three daily shifts. At times, trains on the CPKC railroad have delayed employees getting to or
leaving these businesses, and could potentially delay access by emergency vehicles. With the
merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern Railroads, the number of trains
through this area is set to dramatically increase, to 22 trains per day, possibly more over time.
Because of these issues, the cities of Riverdale and Bettendorf are studying the potential
construction of an overpass over the CPKC Railroad.
The initial location identified for the overpass is Fenno Road, a public roadway that is partially
along the border between the two cities. Existing Fenno Road is a 2-lane rural section within a 40
foot wide right-of-way. Three businesses have access off Fenno Road within close proximity of
the proposed overpass – Mid American Energy, Schebler Company, and Reliable Pallet – along
with two residences. The proposed overpass has the potential to negatively impact neighboring
properties both during construction and after completion. For this reason, Snyder & Associates is
reviewing other potential locations for the overpass, generally within the area between the Arconic
property and Crow Creek. This memo summarizes the benefits, drawbacks, and costs of each
potential overpass location.
The proposed roadway used in this analysis is a 31 foot wide urban collector with 6 foot clear zone
on each side. Pedestrian accommodations were not included in the analysis and are not proposed
along the overpass at this time. The roadway was assumed to have a posted speed limit of 35 mph
(40 mph design speed). Design speed reduces to 25 mph near the stop condition, at U.S. 67. Per
CPKC Railroad requirements, a clearance of 23.5 feet is required from the top of the tracks to the
bottom of the bridge. The bridge is assumed to be 29 feet 7 inches from top of rail to top of bridge
deck, with abutments placed outside railroad right-of-way per CPKC policy.
Connecting roadways, to both the Arconic property and to the Bettendorf Industrial area north of
Crow Creek will be reviewed and estimated separately.
CPKC Railroad Overpass Options
September 21, 2023
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Fenno Road
The proposed alignment for the overpass is a straight line along the existing Fenno Road
alignment. Proposed right-of-way width would be 45 feet, which accommodates a 31 foot roadway
with 6 foot clear on each side, and an additional 1 foot each side for maintenance. A strip of right-
of-way acquisition 5 feet wide would be needed along the entire Fenno Road alignment, with
additional temporary easement as necessary to construct driveway tie-ins and access roads. To
limit impacts to adjacent properties, retaining walls (assumed mechanically stabilized earth
retaining walls) will be required along the majority of the alignment. Access roads will need to be
constructed at the following locations to maintain access to properties:
• Along the north right-of-way line west of the CPKC Railroad, to provide access to Reliable
Pallet (24’ wide).
• Along the north right-of-way line east of the CPKC Railroad, to provide access to the
existing residences (15’ wide). This road comes very close to the front of the easternmost
house.
• Along the south right-of-way line west of the CPKC Railroad, to provide internal
circulation within the Schebler property (23’ wide).
Other existing accesses will need to be reconstructed, with grades up to 7%.
The proposed roadway profile is symmetrical over the center of the tracks, with 7% grades up and
down. The overall length of Fenno Road construction required is 1,883 feet to accommodate the
revised vertical profile updates and to extend to the connecting roadways.
Construction costs for this option are estimated at just over $7.24 million with a total project
development cost estimated at over $8.62 million. It is anticipated, with federal-aid procurement
on projects like this, environmental studies will be required at the time preliminary engineering is
being completed. Approximately 0.15 Acres of permanent ROW will be needed, with additional
areas of temporary easement. No landscaping is included within this estimate, however street
lighting is included.
North Option
This proposed option intersects U.S. 67 approximatley 860 feet north of the Fenno Road
intersection. This proposed intersection does not line up with any other entrances or sideroad
intersections. The proposed alignment is angled to the southeast, largely across undeveloped
portions of the Reliable Pallets property (north / west of tracks) and Mid American Energy
property (south / east of tracks). Existing access to buildings / businesses and residences will not
be significantly impacted during project construction. This option is located entirely within the
City of Bettendorf corporate limits.
The advantage this option has is it has no impact to existing buildings or other features. All land
impacted areas are undeveloped, and only one access is crossed, which will be rebuilt. Retaining
CPKC Railroad Overpass Options
September 21, 2023
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walls are assumed along the railroad right-of-way to limit bridge length. Another option would be
to use a 3-span bridge – additional study would be necessary to determine the most economical
alternative. The proposed profile is symmetrical over the center of the tracks, with 8% grades up
and down. The overall length of construction between U.S. 67 and proposed connecting roads, is
1,780 feet.
It is assumed the Fenno Road at-grade rail crossing will close once this overpass is complete, and
the existing road east of the tracks will tie in to the proposed overpass. The Fenno Road
intersection with U.S. 67 will remain open to provide access to Schebler Company and Reliable
Pallets.
Construction costs for this option are estimated at $5.34 million with a total project development
cost estimated at over $7.21 million. It is anticipated, with federal-aid procurement on projects like
this, environmental studies will be required at the time preliminary engineering is being completed.
Approximately 4.1 acres of permanent ROW will be needed, with a limited amount of temporary
easement. No landscaping is included within this estimate, however street lighting is included.
South Option
One of the goals of the proposed overpass is to provide access to Arconic. An issue with both the
Fenno Road and North overpass options is that neither border the Arconic property, and require
connections across Mid American property and through crowded portions of the Arconic property
east of the tracks to connect to the overpass. The purpose of a south option would be to provide an
overpass directly on or adjacent to the Arconic property.
Due to the location of the CPKC Railroad tracks with respect to U.S. 67, there are very few
locations that will work that would accommodate the overpass and the grade raise necessary to get
clearance over the tracks. Potential options include:
• Constructing the overpass roadway between U.S. 67 and the Railroad, using retaining walls
to limit impact of the roadway fill, then curving the roadway over the tracks via an S-
shaped curve before descending on the Arconic property.
• Starting the overpass near the intersection of the Arconic Construction Entrance with U.S.
67, crossing the CPKC Railroad at the location of the MidAmerican entrance road, then
turning north as the overpass approaches the Arconic berm. The skew of the crossing to the
CPKC Railroad with the option is 52 degrees, leading to a 245 foot long bridge, which
would be much more expensive than previous alternatives discussed in this memo.
Because any potential south option would be located entirely within Riverdale, a connector
roadway north to 62nd Street Court would become disjointed with this proposed infrastructure
improvement. Discussions with MidAmerican Energy indicate that they are considering potential
redevelopment of the Riverside Generating Station site, and these options are less convenient for
future development. For these reasons, a south option was not developed further.
CPKC Railroad Overpass Options
September 21, 2023
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Connecting Roadways
For the full benefit of the overpass to be realized, connecting roadways will need to be constructed
from the east end of the overpass to 62nd Street Court on the north and to the Arconic property to
the south. It is assumed new roadways will be 31 foot wide urban sections, similar to what is
proposed for the railroad overpass. The connecting roadways would traverse existing
MidAmerican Energy property, which has many obstacles to construction that will need to be
avoided. Obstacles include:
• The liquid natural gas (LNG) plant, between Fenno Road and Crow Creek.
• Numerous electrical sub stations, which will remain even after the closure of the generating
station.
• Large diameter gas pipelines and valves.
• The existing office building and surrounding yard.
• Substantial overhead electrical lines and support towers.
• Environmentally sensitive areas, including the site of the former ash ponds, which will
have restrictions on use and development due to past contamination. Brownfield funds may
be available to help clean up the site and allow construction across the contaminated area,
and these funds would be pursued if the project were carried forward.
South of the proposed overpass, it is assumed that a potential new roadway would tie into the
existing Riverside Generating Plant access road, which currently is privately owned by Mid
American Energy. This roadway could potentially be acquired as a public road and be improved as
part of this project. The existing access road is an approximately 20 foot wide rural section with
asphalt surfacing and low speed design with smaller radius horizontal curves. This roadway would
be used to provide access to the Arconic property. Any improvements necessary within the
Arconic property to provide connections between the existing parking areas and the overpass and
access road would be the responsibility of Arconic.
North of the proposed overpass, the new roadway would be constructed with reverse curves across
the former ash ponds, across Crow Creek, to tie into 62nd Street Court. A bridge would be required
across Crow Creek. Additional study will be necessary to determine the size and type of bridge
required at this location, although the bridge on U.S. 67 is 135 feet long. The new connector
roadway bridge would likely be comparable in length. Due to the environmentally sensitive nature
of the area, it is assumed that environmental study will also be required to determine impacts,
regardless of funding sources.
In determining costs, it is assumed the connecting roadways will be the same no matter which
overpass option is chosen. All connecting roads are within the city limits of Bettendorf. Certain
costs are unknown at this time and will need to be clarified as time progresses, including the costs
of environmental clean-up at the former ash ponds site, and any environmental mitigations
necessary due to the construction of a new bridge across Crow Creek. Estimated construction cost
of the connecting roadways, excluding unknown environmental mitigation costs, is $4.32 million
CPKC Railroad Overpass Options
September 21, 2023
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with a total project development cost estimated at nearly $5.24 million. It is anticipated, with
federal-aid procurement on projects like this, environmental studies will be required at the time
preliminary engineering is being completed. Approximately 3.8 acres of permanent ROW will be
needed, with a limited amount of temporary easement. No landscaping is included within this
estimate, however street lighting is included. It should be noted, the Connecting Roadway costs are
in addition to the costs estimated for the Overpass Alternatives.
Recommendations
Based on cost and impacts, our recommendation would be to move forward with the north option
on the Overpass. This will require more right-of-way than the Fenno Road option but would not
impact existing businesses and residences during construction.
We recommend submitting the project for an FRA grant through the Railroad Crossing
Elimination Grant program. This program could pay for anything from engineering fees to
construction, and the completed project would result in the closure of up to 5 existing crossings.
Information indicates that a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will likely be issued in a time
window between November, 2023 to January, 2024. The City of Davenport has already been
awarded a grant for a similar project over the CPKC Railroad. We would also recommend
attempting to obtain a grant to clean up the site of the former ash ponds to allow for roadway
construction through the area.
Another discretionary grant program alternative would include the Rebuilding American
Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE Discretionary Grant program. We
understand the NOFO for RAISE will be issued later in 2023 for the 2024 Award period. Once the
NOFOs are issued, we will evaluate this project against each, and discern an appropriate approach
for pursuit.
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ITEM
#DESCRIPTION QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE EXTENDED
PRICE
1 Bridge - Continuously Welded Girder (1)1.0 LS 879,000.00$ 879,000.00$
2 MSE Retaining Wall 29,000.0 SF 67.00$ 1,943,000.00$
3 Granular Backfill, MSE Wall 21,000.0 CY 48.00$ 1,008,000.00$
4 Embankment-in-place 15,000.0 CY 18.00$ 270,000.00$
5 Bridge Approach, BR-203 520.0 SY 285.00$ 148,200.00$
6 PCC Pavement, Class C, Class 3, 10"(3)5,500.0 SY 89.00$ 489,500.00$
7 Modified Subbase 2,200.0 CY 46.00$ 101,200.00$
8 Driveway, PCC, 8"2,350.0 SY 77.00$ 180,950.00$
9 Removal of Pavement 5,250.0 SY 10.00$ 52,500.00$
10 Aprons, Concrete, 15"2.0 EACH 2,250.00$ 4,500.00$
11 Intake SW-507 8.0 EACH 6,800.00$ 54,400.00$
12 Storm Sewer Gravity Main, Trenched RCP, 15"750.0 LF 95.00$ 71,250.00$
13 Earth Shoulder Construction 35.0 STA 360.00$ 12,600.00$
14 Steel Beam Guardrail End Anchor, Bolted 4.0 EACH 375.00$ 1,500.00$
15 Steel Beam Guardrail Tangent End Terminal 4.0 EACH 3,250.00$ 13,000.00$
16 Steel Beam Guardrail 150.0 LF 35.00$ 5,250.00$
17 Traffic Control 1.0 LS 20,000.00$ 20,000.00$
18 Mobilization 1.0 LS 263,000.00$ 263,000.00$
19 Railroad Protective Liability Insurance 1.0 LS 15,000.00$ 15,000.00$
Subtotal: 5,532,850.00$
Contingency (30%): 1,660,000.00$
CONSTRUCTION TOTAL: 7,192,850.00$
Other Project Costs
Landscaping: -$
Lighting: 50,000.00$
Right of Way (2): 5,000.00$
Engineering, Environmental, Construction, and Administration: 1,376,000.00$
TOTAL PROJECT COST: 8,623,850.00$
Notes
(1)
(2)
(3)
OPINION OF PROBABLE PROJECT COSTS
FENNO ROAD OVERPASS
OVER CPKC RAILROAD
RIVERDALE AND BETTENDORF, IA
PROJECT NO. 123.0443.01B
32' wide, 156' long at $160 / SF, plus 10% mobilization
5' wide strip of ROW required along entire length of roadway. Calculated 0.06 AC north of tracks at $50,000 /
AC and 0.08 AC south of tracks at $25,000 / AC
Includes all pavement necessary to extend to connecting roadways east of CPKC Railroad. Does not include
connecting roadways pavement.
V:\Projects\2023\123.0443.01B\Design\CostOpinion_2023-09-21_Concept.xls
January 3, 2017
Page 1 of 3
ITEM
#DESCRIPTION QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE EXTENDED
PRICE
1 Bridge - Continuously Welded Girder (1)1.0 LS 907,000.00$ 907,000.00$
2 MSE Retaining Wall 11,000.0 SF 67.00$ 737,000.00$
3 Granular Backfill, MSE Wall 7,400.0 CY 48.00$ 355,200.00$
4 Embankment-in-place 75,300.0 CY 18.00$ 1,355,400.00$
5 Bridge Approach, BR-203 520.0 SY 285.00$ 148,200.00$
6 PCC Pavement, Class C, Class 3, 10"(3)5,100.0 SY 89.00$ 453,900.00$
7 Modified Subbase 2,100.0 CY 46.00$ 96,600.00$
8 Driveway, PCC, 8"450.0 SY 77.00$ 34,650.00$
9 Removal of Pavement 1,100.0 SY 10.00$ 11,000.00$
10 Aprons, Concrete, 15"1.0 EACH 2,250.00$ 2,250.00$
11 Aprons, Concrete, 36"2.0 EACH 4,000.00$ 8,000.00$
12 Intake SW-507 8.0 EACH 6,800.00$ 54,400.00$
13 Storm Sewer Gravity Main, Trenched RCP, 15"650.0 LF 95.00$ 61,750.00$
14 Storm Sewer Gravity Main, Trenched RCP, 36"150.0 LF 183.00$ 27,450.00$
15 Earth Shoulder Construction 33.0 STA 360.00$ 11,880.00$
16 Steel Beam Guardrail End Anchor, Bolted 4.0 EACH 375.00$ 1,500.00$
17 Steel Beam Guardrail Tangent End Terminal 4.0 EACH 3,250.00$ 13,000.00$
18 Steel Beam Guardrail 150.0 LF 35.00$ 5,250.00$
19 Traffic Control 1.0 LS 15,000.00$ 15,000.00$
20 Mobilization 1.0 LS 215,000.00$ 215,000.00$
21 Railroad Protective Liability Insurance 1.0 LS 15,000.00$ 15,000.00$
Subtotal: 4,529,430.00$
Contingency (30%): 1,359,000.00$
CONSTRUCTION TOTAL: 5,888,430.00$
Other Project Costs
Landscaping:
Lighting: 50,000.00$
Right of Way (2): 147,500.00$
Engineering, Environmental, Construction, and Administration: 1,128,000.00$
TOTAL PROJECT COST: 7,213,930.00$
Notes
(1)
(2)
(3)
OPINION OF PROBABLE PROJECT COSTS
EAST OVERPASS OPTION
OVER CPKC RAILROAD
RIVERDALE AND BETTENDORF, IA
PROJECT NO. 123.0443.01B
32' wide, 161' long at $160 / SF, plus 10% mobilization
Calculated 1.8 AC north of tracks at $50,000 / AC and 2.3 AC south of tracks at $25,000 / AC
Includes all pavement necessary to extend to connecting roadways east of CPKC Railroad.
V:\Projects\2023\123.0443.01B\Design\CostOpinion_2023-09-21_Concept.xls
January 3, 2017
Page 2 of 3
ITEM
#DESCRIPTION QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE EXTENDED
PRICE
1 Bridge - PPCB (1)1.0 LS 642,000.00$ 642,000.00$
2 Embankment-in-place 15,000.0 CY 18.00$ 270,000.00$
3 Bridge Approach, BR-203 520.0 SY 285.00$ 148,200.00$
4 PCC Pavement, Class C, Class 3, 10"13,600.0 SY 89.00$ 1,210,400.00$
5 Modified Subbase 5,400.0 CY 46.00$ 248,400.00$
6 Driveway, PCC, 8"400.0 SY 77.00$ 30,800.00$
7 Removal of Pavement 1,800.0 SY 10.00$ 18,000.00$
8 Aprons, Concrete, 18"2.0 EACH 2,250.00$ 4,500.00$
9 Aprons, Concrete, 48"2.0 EACH 4,200.00$ 8,400.00$
10 Intake SW-507 16.0 EACH 6,800.00$ 108,800.00$
11 Storm Sewer Gravity Main, Trenched RCP, 15"250.0 LF 95.00$ 23,750.00$
12 Storm Sewer Gravity Main, Trenched RCP, 18"3,100.0 LF 100.00$ 310,000.00$
13 Storm Sewer Gravity Main, Trenched RCP, 48"55.0 LF 290.00$ 15,950.00$
14 Earth Shoulder Construction 80.0 STA 360.00$ 28,800.00$
15 Steel Beam Guardrail End Anchor, Bolted 4.0 EACH 375.00$ 1,500.00$
16 Steel Beam Guardrail Tangent End Terminal 4.0 EACH 3,250.00$ 13,000.00$
17 Steel Beam Guardrail 150.0 LF 35.00$ 5,250.00$
18 Traffic Control 1.0 LS 5,000.00$ 5,000.00$
19 Mobilization 1.0 LS 155,000.00$ 155,000.00$
Subtotal: 3,247,750.00$
Contingency (30%): 974,000.00$
CONSTRUCTION TOTAL: 4,221,750.00$
Other Project Costs
Landscaping: -$
Lighting: 100,000.00$
Right of Way (2): 95,000.00$
Engineering, Environmental, Construction, and Administration: 821,000.00$
TOTAL PROJECT COST: 5,237,750.00$
Notes
(1)
(2)
OPINION OF PROBABLE PROJECT COSTS
CONNECTING ROADWAYS
EAST OF CPKC RAILROAD
RIVERDALE AND BETTENDORF, IA
PROJECT NO. 123.0443.01B
32' wide, 135' long at $135 / SF, plus 10% mobilization
Calculated 3.8 AC at $25,000 / AC
V:\Projects\2023\123.0443.01B\Design\CostOpinion_2023-09-21_Concept.xls
January 3, 2017
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