The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company is planning a massive new intermodal facility and logistics park in Weld County. The project could generate thousands of jobs but has the communities of Hudson and Lochbuie locking horns over annexations.
BizWest Editor Chris Wood joined KUNC’s All Things Considered with details on the story.
BizWest reported three years ago about BNSF using eminent domain to acquire thousands of acres in Weld County between the Hudson and Lochbuie. It’s along Interstate 76, which parallels the BNSF tracks.
BNSF has acquired about 2,700 acres in total. It plans two major complementary developments. The intermodal facility will aid in transfer of containers between trains and trucks. It also has acquired acreage east of that project for a planned logistics park, at which third-party companies that want to access the intermodal facility could build logistics and warehouse space.
“We've been told that the overall project could generate 10,000 to 20,000 jobs, 20 million square feet of development and potentially generate billions of dollars in economic impact,” Wood told KUNC. “One official told us that it would be the biggest economic development deal in the entire state.”
The Colorado Constitution treats railroads as public highways. That essentially grants them condemnation powers for projects that will be considered public use.
“We first reported on BNSF filing 10 eminent domain lawsuits in Weld County District Court back in 2021,” Wood said. “In each of those cases, the property owners stipulated to BNSF taking immediate possession of the land, which has occurred even as prices were negotiated. And out of those 10 cases most have now been concluded.”
Comprehensive plans for both towns target the BNSF area for annexation, and both are processing annexations for various parcels and rights of way around the BNSF project.
Hudson has annexed land between the planned intermodal facility and logistics park. It's also seeking to annex property south of the project along with rights of way along I-76 Frontage Road. Hudson is already home to a 430-acre BNSF logistics center. Lochbuie is annexing land directly south of BNSF and is also seeking annexations of rights of way along county roads. The two towns’ annexations are partially overlapping.
“So Lochbuie went to Weld County District Court last month to force what's called an annexation election, which will involve property owners and electors in that area,” Wood told KUNC. “A Weld County District Court judge just last week stayed the overlapping annexations and an election will be held at some point in the future. We don't have that date yet.
So far, BNSF has not yet specified a timeline for construction or applied for annexation to either town.
