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BNSF clears sites in Texas and Montana for industrial development

Western US railroad has 29 certified sites across network

BNSF has two sites in Montana and Texas ready for industrial development. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

BNSF is seeking companies interested in developing on two industrial sites in Texas and Montana, both of which are adjacent to the railroad.

The Somerville, Texas, site features 103 acres that don’t have any zoning requirements or restrictions. It is east of State Highway 36 and located 20 miles outside of Bryan-College Station in eastern Texas. 

The Fort Peck Tribal Industrial Park in Poplar, Montana, consists of 45 acres zoned for heavy industrial use. The site is north of U.S. Highway 2 and outside city limits of the Fort Peck Reservation in Roosevelt County.

These two new sites bring a total of three certified sites in Texas and four in Montana. Certified sites are those that undergo a thorough analysis that includes an evaluation of environmental and geotechnical standards, available utilities, site availability and existing and projected infrastructure, BNSF (NYSE: BRK.B) said.


By building on a certified site, businesses can save between six and nine months of construction because of the analysis already performed on the site, the railroad said.

Among the other areas hosting at least one of BNSF’s 29 certified sites are Arizona, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota. There is also one site in Northgate, Saskatchewan, near the North Dakota border.

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Joanna Marsh

Joanna is a Washington, DC-based writer covering the freight railroad industry. She has worked for Argus Media as a contributing reporter for Argus Rail Business and as a market reporter for Argus Coal Daily.