CASSELTON - A multimillion-dollar grain elevator could be built here next year.

Plans call for an elevator that can handle 110-car unit trains on the city's southwest side, city and county officials said.

"This will really be good for Casselton," Mayor Ed McConnell said.

A number of area grain elevators, including AGP Grain Ltd. in Casselton and Prosper Grain Elevator in Harwood, are involved in the project, city and county officials say.

Scott Althoff, manager of the Casselton elevator, declined comment.

Sid Mauch, manager of the Prosper elevator, declined comment except to say, "There are still a lot of hurdles to clear."

City and county officials already are making plans to build an $800,000 road to serve the proposed elevator, described as the "AGP shuttle facility" on a county planning map.

Construction of the road should begin in the spring and be completed around fall freeze-up, said Cass County engineer Keith Berndt.

The road will be about 3,000 feet long, to accommodate heavily loaded farm trucks, he said. Building it will cost about $671,000, the county said.

The city has not received building plans for the proposed elevator, and details apparently have yet to be worked out, McConnell said. The elevator will cost up to $5 million, he said.

AGP Grain Ltd. has a storage capacity of 574,000 bushels and handles wheat, soybeans, corn, canola, field peas, durum, feed barley, seed and sunflowers, the North Dakota Grain Dealers Association said.

The Casselton elevator currently can accommodate 56 cars. The grain industry, eager to improve efficiency and cut costs, is putting more emphasis on fast-loading 110-car trains.