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Steamboat Springs — After years of negotiations and discussions, work is scheduled to start this month on Xcel Energy's rail spur near the Hayden Station power plant. The utility plans to start with rail earthwork this month and the realignment of Routt County Road 27 later this summer, Xcel spokesman Mark Stutz said in an e-mail.

But the path isn't completely free of obstacles. Xcel has asked for amendments to the special use permit the Routt County Board of Commissioners approved for the project. The requested changes are scheduled to go before the Routt County Planning Department on June 18.

The initial permit allowed as many as five trains a week consisting of about 70 cars each. Xcel has asked to change that to 115 cars per train. That's a result of Union Pacific Railroad requirements, according to the application for an amendment.

"We believe that the (Union Pacific) will make only three or sometimes four trips a week, however," Stutz wrote in the e-mail. "So there is an anticipated reduction in the number of total trips per week."

The Xcel plan consists of reconstructing an existing rail spur to take coal to the Hayden plant. The project will include railroad bridges over U.S. Highway 40 and Routt County Road 27. The county approved the plans in 2007.

As part of the requested amendments, Xcel wants the county to remove a bond for the U.S. 40 bridge. The Colorado Department of Transportation already requires a bond, so Xcel wants to cut redundant requirements and costs, county planner Chris Brookshire said. The utility also wants a change to allow for relocation of an electric line and the addition of a sloped embankment south of U.S. 40. That embankment would remove the need for a retaining wall and make it easier for wildlife to cross. The change was made possible by the planned purchase of the Garcia property, according to Xcel's application.

"The new spur design would place the rails on a berm that wildlife will be able to cross at-grade at all points along the rail spur south of U.S. Highway 40, which would essentially negate the need for a wildlife crossing structure in this area," the document states.

Environmental concerns have been a part of the years-long rail spur discussion. Part of the right-of-way for the railroad passes through the Carpenter Ranch, which the Nature Conservancy runs. Geoff Blakeslee, Yampa River project director with the Nature Conservancy, said he was working with Xcel.

"We've agreed to a mitigation plan with them, and so far, so good," Blakeslee said. "They're following the plan quite well, and we're working together to accomplish what they've agreed to."

The utility's rail spur would have impaired access to the ranch's irrigation system, he said, so Xcel is relocating a pump to a more convenient spot. Xcel has started that process, Stutz said in the e-mail.

"We have employed a consulting engineer to design the irrigation improvements at the Carpenter Ranch that we had agreed to pay for," he said. "The design work is expected to be complete at the end of this month. The construction of the improvements is planned for this fall. All other work at the Carpenter Ranch will be done within our existing easement."

Stutz also wrote that the longer trains shouldn't have a significant impact on wildlife.

"We are building the new spur to accommodate wildlife issues in general for a separated-grade crossing, so what has been approved and what we will build will be of benefit to the environment regardless of the number of cars," Stutz wrote. "Plus, a reduction of one to two trips a week will be of benefit, as well."