CSX closes two Fremont crossings
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on July 19, 2017 5:05 PM
FREMONT -- CSX Transportation has closed two railroad crossings in Fremont after the town voted last year to have them shut down.
The crossings, at North Street and South Street, had posed a safety concern to the town for some time. The steep angles of both crossings had caused larger vehicles, especially tractor trailers, to get stuck on the rails for as long as an hour at a time.
The Fremont Board of Aldermen voted to close the crossings in April of 2016. In June of 2017, CSX placed signs near the crossings indicating that they would be closed starting June 26.
That was the only indication of any action until this week, when the crossings were shut down. Workers dug up the sections of road connecting the crossings to the adjacent streets, placing warning signs in front of where the road used to be.
Paul Moats, chief of the Fremont Police Department, said that the closings are not likely to impact traffic in town.
"I wouldn't expect any real effect on traffic," he said. "We carefully considered that when we were looking at which crossings we could close. There was a real need to close that one out of safety concerns."
On Wednesday, the North Street crossing had been fully closed off, while crews were still finishing up at South Street. Goldsboro Street was down to one lane while they worked.
The town is also waiting to hear back from CSX on a request to install railroad crossing arms at the Main Street crossing. A train hit a Coca-Cola truck there in early June, causing no injuries but shutting down the crossing for hours.
A more serious accident could end in injuries, deaths and potentially even a train derailment in the middle of town.
Fremont Town Administrator Barbara Aycock submitted a request for the crossing arms earlier this month.