Board votes to close two crossings
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on April 21, 2016 1:46 PM
FREMONT -- The Fremont town board voted Tuesday night to close two railroad crossings over concerns that vehicles could become stuck and cause traffic collisions with trains.
The board unanimously voted to close the North Street and South Street crossings at the recommendation of Fremont police and CSX Transportation Company, which operates out of Goldsboro and runs trains through Fremont. Fremont Police chief Paul Moates said that the North Street crossing in particular was hazardous for tractor trailers because of the steep incline on which it sits. Moats said that the incline has lead to multiple trailers getting stuck on the rails since he became chief in 2011.
"I personally have seen around 15 trailers get stuck on that crossing, and that's just me during day shift." Moats said. "We've been very lucky that a train hasn't been coming through any of those times, and that luck isn't going to go on forever."
Moats said that getting a trailer off the North Street crossing is a time-consuming process. The vehicles must be inched off the tracks slowly to avoid damaging the rails, a result which could lead to a train derailment in the middle of town. Services capable of moving the trailers do not exist particularly close to Fremont, so the trailers just have to sit on the tracks until they get there. All told, Moats said that each incident represented about an hour in which a train coming through town would hit a trailer, causing serious damage and injury and potentially derailing.
At the South Street crossing, Moats said trains actually had collided with cars in the past, but that these incidents had thankfully not resulted in any serious injury or dangerous damage to the railroad.
For fixing this potential safety hazard, the town will receive a payment of $20,000 from CSX Transportation and a further $15,000 from the Department of Transportation. Mayor Darron Flowers said that, while the payment is certainly a benefit, the board should view the issue as a safety concern above all else.
Moats assured the board that closing the two crossings would not significantly affect the flow of traffic in Fremont.
Fremont currently has eight railroad crossings; the current measure would bring the number to six.