The possibility of quiet nights in the vicinity of Speed and Klein streets has gotten closer.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen Monday took under advisement two bids to pave an emergency access road from Klein to Depot Street that will lead to the closing of the Speed Street railroad crossing at the intersection of Speed and Pearl Street.

Public Works Director Garnet Van Norman said the $96,625 bid from Riverside Construction of Vicksburg and a $98,050 bid from Central Asphalt, also of Vicksburg, would be reviewed, adding he expected to make a recommendation Friday.

He said later both bids were under the projected cost of the project.

“This bid is to pave the road and install the fence the railroad (Kansas City Southern) wants as part of the project,” he said. “The road has to be separate from the railroad property.”

The emergency road will run along the east side of the KCS switchyard from Klein Street to Depot Street.

The paved section of the road goes down the hill from Klein Street and the hill going to Depot with a fence along the way.

The road is part of a compromise approved in April 2014 between the city and the railroad, and will serve as an emergency outlet for people on the west side of Pearl Street across the tracks, allowing KCS to close the Speed Street crossing north of the street’s intersection with Pearl Street.

Closing the crossing will create a “quiet zone” along Pearl Street, where several bed-and-breakfasts are located.

City officials have discussed closing the Speed Street crossing since 2003. It has been deemed a safety hazard by the city, because emergency vehicles have problems negotiating the crossing to get to calls on the west side.

The residents on both sides of the tracks gave their opinions on the crossing in an October 2014 public hearing on the board’s plans to close it.

The board took the closing under advisement, and city officials began meeting with KCS representatives to discuss a solution.