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Tim Pugmire

Dayton pushes rail safety ahead of special session

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Gov. Mark Dayton talked about railroad safety at the St. Paul Park crossing where a tain and truck collided Sunday. Tim Pugmire|MPR News

With the scope of a special session still unresolved, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton went to St. Paul Park Tuesday to talk about railroad safety.

Dayton met with city officials and local legislators. He then toured the site of a weekend crossing accident between a semi and an oil train. No one was hurt, but Dayton said it highlights the need for more investments in rail crossing improvements.

“To leave $1 billion on the bottom line, when these kind of projects are urgently needed for public safety, is just astonishing to me,” Dayton said.

The governor sent a letter to Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt Monday urging him to pass additional rail safety funding during the yet-to-be called special session. But Dayton stressed that it’s not another demand.

“We’ve got almost 10,000 public employees whose jobs are at risk now on July 1,” he said. “We have all sorts of essential government services being jeopardized. So it’s past the point of issuing those kinds of warnings. We’re just going to have to work with what’s left and get as much of it as possible.”

Dayton is still trying to work out three unresolved issues in the jobs and energy bill before he calls lawmakers back to St. Paul. He said the special session could still be later this week.

UPDATE

Speaker Daudt said he was willing to visit with the governor about rail safety funding, but he noted that there was $5 million approved this year for crossing projects.

“We have to make the choices to prioritize those projects,” Daudt said. “I think we’ll continue to provide funding for them and bite them off as quickly as we can. But I don’t know at this point if there will be a wholesale change in the amount or the approach we’re taking.”