Business leaders support tunnel for railroad

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Tuesday, July 27, 1999 | 4:21 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - Several downtown business leaders say the city should consider building a tunnel for the railroad tracks running through town instead of digging the trench currently planned.

"It is reasonable and feasible," said Bill Osgood, president of the Downtown Improvement Association.

Osgood served on a task force examining the impact of a diversion track planned through Commercial Row during trench construction.

He said the tunnel option should be included in the environmental impact statement required for the trench.

The city is pursuing the trench to reduce the impact of increased train traffic through downtown as a result of the Union Pacific-Southern Pacific merger.

As many as 36 trains a day could eventually pass through Reno, roughly triple the 12 to 14 now traveling through town daily.