By Shannon Lukens.
Union Pacific has stacks of railroad ties all along the tracks from Milner to Phippsburg. Word from the corporate office Tuesday is that they stopped cleanup in December due to the weather and will resume removal in the spring. About 50,000 new railroad ties were put in on 32 miles of track last summer.
The Union Pacific spokesperson reminded people not to touch the piles of railroad ties.
More on the story from July 18, 2023 — RAILROAD TIES ARE BEING REPLACED BY UNION PACIFIC
More on the story from Aug. 28, 2023 — OLD RR TIES ALONG THE TRACKS TO BE PICKED UP NEXT MONTH
Then we asked (again) about the collapsed metal building on the property along the Yampa River Core Trail behind the Depot. The address is 1123 Old Stock Road. It collapsed from heavy snow over a year ago. We have been inquiring about when it will be demolished since last October.
More on the Story from Oct. 25, 2023 — THE COLLAPSED UNION PACIFIC BUILDING HAS STILL NOT BEEN REMOVED
Mike Jaixen is the Senior Manager of Communications with Union Pacific wrote on Tuesday, April 9, “Regarding demolition, we continue to work with the State of Colorado for approval to proceed. We understand the community’s frustration, but projects of this size take time to go through the permitting process, acquire a contractor and schedule the demolition.”
However, we received more specific details 27 minutes before the email from Jaixen with Union Pacific. This email was from Todd Carr with the Routt County Regional Building Department.
“Our Code Compliance officer received an email today from the RR stating they would begin demo work April 29th and hope to have it completed by May 10th.”
So the Union Pacific rep said Tuesday they’re still working on it. Todd Carr with Routt County says someone reached out to them from Union Pacific that it will be done by May 10.
We’ll keep you posted.
In past correspondence…
- A Notice of Violation from Routt County to Union Pacific was sent on July 12, 2023. Samantha Pearce from the Routt County Attorney’s Office wrote on Oct. 24.
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- Option 1: They may apply for a Demolition Permit to take the building down and haul it off the site and restore the site and grounds back to normal conditions by leveling off the lot. Demolition Permits once applied for are reviewed within 3-working days by City Staff and the Building Department, we have yet to receive an demolition permit to date. This is still an open Code Enforcement Case.
- Option 2: They may apply for a building permit to restore and rehabilitate the building, they have yet to apply for a building permit.
Todd Carr with Routt County wrote on Oct. 20, 2023, for Steamboat Radio News to please fill out a CORA request for information which will be processed so records and information can be shared.
Mike Jaixen wrote on Oct. 20, 2023 — Thank you for reaching out to Union Pacific. We have hired a contractor to demolish this building in Steamboat Springs, but the work is still awaiting approval from state and city officials. Once we have the proper permits to move forward, we’ll be able to proceed with demolition of this building.
Todd Carr with Routt County then wrote on Oct. 24, “FYI: They applied late yesterday for our local demo permit, so we now received this demo permit application and it’s under reviews by all City Departments and the Building Department.”
Mike Jaixen replied on Oct. 24, “Union Pacific has been in regular communication with the city of Steamboat Springs throughout this process. The city permit was submitted yesterday, and the state indicates that we’ll have their response in the next couple of weeks. Once we have all the necessary approvals, demolition work can then proceed.”
On April 4 and April 8, we started asking again when the building will be demolished.
The Union Pacific rep said Tuesday they’re still working on it. Todd Carr with Routt County says someone reached out to them from Union Pacific that it will be done by May 10.