Grant Delay Stalls Rapid City Rail Quiet Zone Plans – Rapid City South Dakota news, weather, sports

RAPID CITY, S.D.— A grant that would have helped Rapid City take its first steps toward rail quiet zones has been delayed. In July of last year the city was awarded $1.1 million through an infrastructure program called RAISE. The money is earmarked for safety upgrades at rail crossings in the downtown corridor — the first step toward creating rail quiet zones.

But that grant agreement is now on hold, partly because of the government shutdown, which has slowed progress in the city’s grants division. Rapid City Grants Division Manager Jamie Toennies, “There aren’t as many to apply for right now, and there’s not as many staff on hand at their end to review those grants and make those decisions. So it’s kind of slowed down some of those processes.”

Toennies tells NewsCenter1 the shutdown hasn’t stopped its work altogether. The city is now looking into more grants through private foundations.