Bemidji City Council Approves Next Phase in Rail Corridor Project

The Bemidji City Council authorized Bid Package No. 1 for the initial soil cleanup and remediation of the Bemidji Rail Corridor back in February of 2025, and at their meeting on Monday, they approved Bid Package No. 2 for the remaining city work in the corridor.

The council needed to vote on approving the proposal to start officially designing what the new area will look like and enter into a professional services agreement for work on the sanitary sewer line replacement. Freeberg & Grund of Bemidji was chosen as the consulting engineer firm to design this portion of the corridor, which must be finished before the construction of the YMCA and the hotel and event center.

The designing phase is set to take several months, with the city not beginning the physical project until July. City officials stated that completion for this phase of the project is set for September or October.