TUPELO — The All-America City has secured millions of federal dollars to spend on multiple railroad projects, including establishing “quiet zones” and moving the switching operations from the heart of town.

The Tupelo City Council this week voted unanimously among present members to accept the submission of documents for a $7.7 million Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation. The money will fund extensive upgrades to 11 crossings throughout the city to create three quiet zones, as well as cover the cost of engineering for moving the crossing operations south of the city.

Broken down, the city will get $7.7 million with a $1.9 million match to the grant, $5.5 million of which will go to the safety improvements and $2.2 million will cover the cost of engineering and design of the switching operations movement, which currently switches near the intersection of Main and Gloster streets, known as Crosstown.

The Federal Railroad Administration requires trains moving through a crossing to sound their horns to alert traffic of their approach. Two lines run through the heart of Tupelo: One runs diagonally through town, operated by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), and the other, operated by Canadian National Railway (CNR), runs vertically.

To create a “quiet zone,” every crossing in a certain stretch of track must be physically impossible to bypass. A quiet zone comes with several advantages, such as faster speeds and quieter trains.

The city upgraded two crossings last year: the crossings at Park and Spring streets. However, the process takes time and money, and City Engineer Dennis Bonds previously said the city needs 11 more to make three quiet zones: one on the northwest portion of the BNSF line, another on the southeast portion of the BNSF line and the final one running the length of the CNR line.

This project would exclude just one crossing in town —Crosstown. Bonds said it is virtually impossible to bring that busy crossing up to quiet zone standards.

Remaining grant money will fund the relocation of Crosstown’s switching operations and a proposed overpass at Eason Bouldevard’s crossing, which should make it faster for trains to move through the heart of town. Officials say the overpass will also make it easier for emergency medical services to make it to the Northeast Mississippi Medical Center.

“Right now, (the switching operations) happens next to Crosstown, and that’s why all the traffic is so backed up,” Christian said. “This would actually move those operations east of town. … This (money) would just help us fund that design and engineering work.”

The city previously received $1.4 million from a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant and $4.6 million from the state for the design costs. This final funding source completes the budget for it.