2. Procedural Background

The City filed this application on February 27, 2004, seeking to construct an at-grade crossing of Union Pacific tracks to serve a developing Gridley Industrial Park. According to the City, the industrial park eventually will provide up to 1,000 new jobs that are needed in this rural community, where the unemployment rate is about 13%. The application was protested by Union Pacific, which maintained that the City had not adequately addressed safety concerns related to the new crossing.

Following failed attempts with the Commission's Rail Crossings Engineering Section to resolve the dispute, the parties exchanged written testimony and participated in two days of hearing on April 19 and 20, 2005. Briefs were filed on June 27, 2005, but further proceedings were stayed on July 8, 2005, when the City and Union Pacific invoked the Commission's mediation process in an attempt to resolve outstanding issues. Mediation was conducted in October 2005, but was unsuccessful. The stay was lifted on October 17, 2005, and parties were directed to file reply briefs by November 21, 2005, at which time the application was deemed submitted for Commission consideration.