In February of 2020 San Juan County entered into an historic Memorandum of Understanding with the Navajo Nation to collaborate on development of a freight rail line to serve San Juan County. Subsequently, a $2 million BUILD grant was applied for and received from the US Department of Transportation. The funding will produce an economic feasibility analysis that will examine the freight traffic demand and other factors relevant to the feasibility of the proposed new rail line, and an alternatives analysis to identifying routing, infrastructure investment, and design options to support the movement of freight from the Four Corners region to the national freight network via a connection to the BNSF network along the I-40 rail corridor in Gallup, NM.

Recently San Juan County & the Navajo Nation held 3 public input meetings in Farmington, Newcomb, and Crownpoint during the week of August 19^th. Approximately, 145 citizens attended meetings. The project team received valuable input from a variety of voices during the 8 project meetings held over the study period. With this feedback, we look to finish up the feasibility study and submit the completed product to the Federal Railroad Administration in the next 2 months.

However, the feasibility study is just first phase of planning and gathering input. San Juan County along with support of the Navajo Nation and New Mexico Department of Transportation submitted on a federal grant to provide preliminary engineering and a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) study to provide a more detailed alignment of prospective routes. If successful with the award, it is anticipated the next phase taking two years to complete and will include additional public input meetings for citizens. As this project progresses “down the track”, the best place to stay informed and provide immediate feedback is at the project website. Click below for more information.