DAVENPORT, Iowa — The merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern continues to gain traction in the Quad Cities. The City of Davenport is expected to vote on a $10 million agreement on Aug. 10 that could bring many changes to the metro.
One of those changes? Three times the amount of freight traffic.
"I'm sure Canadian Pacific understood where we were coming from as a city," said Alderwoman Marion Meginnis, who represents Davenport's third ward.
Meginnis told News 8's Jonathan Fong that she's satisfied with how the talks went. She also said safety, traffic and notice were all considered in the negotiations.
"In talking about what our concerns were, top of mind was quality-of-life, things like silent crossings, access into areas that might not be very accessible once there's that many trains going," said Meginnis. "So access, really quality-of-life all along our nine-mile stretch."
However, some businesses are expressing concern.
Summer Rosenmohr is the Assistant Executive Director for Freight House Farmer's Market, and she said the extra noise could seriously affect customer experience.
"If it becomes prohibitive where there's so many trains coming back and forth, and our vendors can't speak with our customers - how will that look?" she said. "I don't think the customers will love that as well."
But while $8 million is planned for the riverfront, that area isn't the only place of concern.
Freight trains are often an issue at the crossing just outside of Credit Island Park which leads to a water treatment plant. The remaining $2 million is planned for building a bridge across that length of the track.
"It was also very important to the city, to have access not only for residents who live south of the railroad track, but also to our Water Pollution Control Plant," Meginnis added. "[It] controls 165,000 households, not just in Davenport. This is how we flush our toilets. We have to be able to get to that."
While the alderwoman says the agreement is mutually beneficial for the rail company and the city of Davenport, the results won't be seen until the merger fully completes in 2027.
The City of Bettendorf already made a $3 million agreement with Canadian Pacific this summer.