The South's worst railroad crossing?

[cbalducc]

Picture this - a bustling Southern community, somewhere between a small town and city in size, serving as the commercial hub for the northeastern part of the state in which it is located.  Two busy highways intersect in the heart of this community.  In a NW-SE axis through that intersection runs a railroad that hosts about 20 trains a day.  Where is this?

Here is a link to the intersection:  http://g.co/maps/45qzc

And a plan to do something about it:  http://tinyurl.com/7ufz8dh


God bless,

CKB

[froggie]

I knew even without going to the links which one you were referring to.  Also, MDOT's been studying that for several years, and I'm actually impressed it got to a Final EIS with a preferred alternative, though I wouldn't be surprised if the locals were less than happy with the decision.

[realjd]

What makes it so bad? 20 trains per day is less than one per hour. Does it cause an unusual amount of traffic congestion? They don't even have gates so is it fair to assume that the accident rate isn't large?

I'm not saying they shouldn't relocate the through rail lines around the town. Lafayette, IN is another example of a community that used to be divided by heavily used railroads but was improved by relocating the through tracks and it did make a huge difference.

[mightyace]

^^^

There was one big difference in Layfeytte, IN.  The CSX (ex-L&N, nee-Monon) tracks used to run down the middle of one of the main thoroughfares in town!

[Jordanah1]

i can definitely understand the problem, but i think adding a few rail overpasses would do the trick, rather than compleatly rerouting train traffic. i see that there are already a few road-rail seperations, and im surprised that thats not one of them.

[realjd]

^^^

There was one big difference in Layfeytte, IN.  The CSX (ex-L&N, nee-Monon) tracks used to run down the middle of one of the main thoroughfares in town!

The big busy one I'm thinking of was the tracks that ran diagonally, crossing SR26 at around 9th St.  You can easily see the old railroad path on the map, and there are still sections of unused tracks in town. Amtrak used to run down the middle of 5th St. Is that what you were thinking of?

[mightyace]

^^^

Yes it was.

[Bryant5493]

This is a pretty bad intersection.

Mt. Zion Road at GA 54: http://g.co/maps/25fsn


This intersection can be crazy, too.

E. Main St at Harvard Ave. (at U.S. 29/Main St.): http://g.co/maps/zsytt


Be well,

Bryant

[florida]

We enjoy making travel rough on everyone in the South.

http://g.co/maps/dwghz

http://g.co/maps/xh97s

http://g.co/maps/mxvxr

http://g.co/maps/vucd8

[NE2]

We enjoy making travel rough on everyone in the South.

http://g.co/maps/dwghz

http://g.co/maps/xh97s

http://g.co/maps/mxvxr

http://g.co/maps/vucd8

These are all relatively minor branch lines that probably see a train or two a day. The third one is likely the busiest, and is getting a new overpass.

[DeaconG]

Here's a couple more:

http://g.co/maps/spz5v

http://g.co/maps/9m7d7

The first one's already been rebuilt twice...

[JREwing78]

It's not limited to the South, either. Here's a winner in Janesville, WI:
http://g.co/maps/ubcea

[realjd]

Here's a couple more:

http://g.co/maps/spz5v

http://g.co/maps/9m7d7

The first one's already been rebuilt twice...

Those trusses at the Barton Blvd crossing are really cool!

[bugo]

The US 59-270 crossing of the KCS Railroad in northern Polk County, AR is very rough.  I have to slow down to 20 when I cross it to keep from damaging my car.  25 is too fast.  The speed limit through there is 55.

[jdb1234]

This one in Alabaster can be a problem (I've only been stopped there once).

http://www.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=33.238306,-86.815939&spn=0.001288,0.001676&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=33.238243,-86.816053&panoid=ry_5x5nZaqiY3mZn6djtsg&cbp=12,58.3,,0,0

[cbalducc]

Here's a couple more:

http://g.co/maps/spz5v

http://g.co/maps/9m7d7

The first one's already been rebuilt twice...

Those trusses at the Barton Blvd crossing are really cool!

At least those don't run through the intersection of two roads.  God bless.

[pctech]

It may not be the worst, but the Essen Lane, Kansas City Southern railway crossing in Baton Rouge is pretty dangerous. Essen is a very busy road. Traffic often comes to a stop on the railroad crossing and there are 2 side streets that come into it at that point, plus driveways from various business  operations.

[cjk374]

The US 190/US 11 intersection in Slidell is a doozy!