EDGARD — By April 15, more than 82,000 wooden railroad ties and 40,000 tons of rock ballast will have been installed on the Union Pacific rail line that extends from Luling to Livonia and crosses through the West Bank of St. John the Baptist Parish.

Crews performed maintenance work on the track that runs near Highway 3127 and intersects Highway 640 in Edgard during the latter half of March, according to Union Pacific media relations specialist Jeff DeGraff.

The project is currently wrapping up in Luling with recent work completed near Paul Maillard Road, Judge Edward Dufresne Parkway and Ashton Plantation.

Union Pacific is privately funding the $12 million project through an infrastructure budget.

“We are a for-profit entity and a corporation, but we believe in reinvesting into our infrastructure so we can provide excellent customer service,” DeGraff said.

“This is one of our main maintenance projects that we perform across our entire network because these are really important structures as far as keeping our rail safe and efficient.”

He said wooden rail ties protect train crews and communities by keeping rails stable and straight, while the rock ballast underneath supports the hundreds of tons of freight that rolls across the track.

St. John the Baptist Parish communications director Baileigh Rebowe Helm said Parish officials have no power or jurisdiction over railroads or rail crossings, which operate independently and are governed federally.

Division A councilman-at-large Larry Sorapuru said he hasn’t heard any comments or complaints regarding the West Bank railroad tracks.

The only alerts or closings he hears of periodically concern the two railroads that run near Woodland Quarters in LaPlace.

Kansas City Southern Railway and Canadian National Railway operate the East Bank railroads and were not involved in the recent maintenance project.

Maintenance work in St. John Parish was completed south of most residential neighborhoods, and DeGraff said crews work quickly to avoid impacting the communities or blocking highway shoulders.

Every rail line is on a specific maintenance schedule, and given factors including the amount and type of freight and number of trains that travel through the area each day, he said. Even after maintenance work is complete, Union Pacific inspectors regularly check the tracks.

Keeping this section of the railroad in operating condition is very important to the industries that provide jobs to the region, according to DeGraff.

The stretch along the Mississippi River is a major corridor connecting ports and refineries in greater New Orleans to the central part of the state, where freight can then branch off and continue north or west.

The railroad itself is a job machine, staffing every position from welders and machinists to conductors and engineers, maintenance crews and office support staff, DeGraff said.

Additionally, the American Association of Railroads estimates that each job inside the railroad contributes another nine jobs outside the railroad.