When a road crossing is continually blocked by trains - remove the road!

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1611mac

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I watch the Elkart IN Virtual Railfan cam quite a bit and I've always been amazed that trains block this road crossing as much as they do. Several times a day for LONG periods.

Here's how to care for the problem:

Screen shot below - All credit goes to Virtual Raifan - Elakart IN cam.

Doesn't show? Direct link to pic: http://www.jump55.com/road.jpg

road.jpg
 
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Not seeing your screenshot or link Greg. Maybe my browser. I suppose if it becomes a problem you dig a road down under for an underpass or build it over with an overpass. I am amazed that Minneapolis managed to get their commuter rail going across so many intersections going both ways at the same time without snarling too much traffic, but the commuter trains are probably short enough that it isn't much longer than waiting for a red light. The ever longer fright trains would be a whole different story, as would switching.
 
Picture is showing fine on the forum for me. Here's a direct link to the jpg.
http://www.jump55.com/road.jpg

I found this humourous as they started to tear the road out yesterday and just before they did a train sat there forever. I thought to myself, I'm surprised the town allows this. I guess the railroad won. Perhaps they will just redo with a new crossing? But I've never seen new roadbed put down for the whole thing if they were simply repaving.
 
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Ha! Thanks for the link. I guess that is another great way to resolve the issue! Keep us posted on what happens from here!
EDIT: Jordon412, thanks for the Google maps link. So there are TWO crossings there? Did they tear them both up? Nice look at the NYC Passenger consist converted to a museum? If I am ever near Elkhart I am going to make sure to visit that.
 
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I have a feeling (though thoroughly un-researched :hehe:) that this is temporary. The road on 1 side looks recently repaved, might want to just redo the entire road including that crossing and I doubt that the road that cross's all 4 tracks is minor enough to be chopped. I wouldn't call it a though fare but its not a side street ether. There are 2 bridges nearby for crossing the tracks if it is cut though, so shouldn't be tooooooo big an annoyance.

Also NS could be wanting to upgrade/ do some work on the track and would have to rip up the crossing to get at it anyway make a deal saying "we think this could take a few months, can we have it closed that long". they did that to a crossing near me and it was on a much more needed crossing due to being the only one for about 2 miles.

On top of all that, why would the city close a cash cow of blockage fines from NS? :p
 
Here's the only 2-lane bridge in Dalton, Georgia over the Norfolk Southern and CSX trackage. Note the distance between the bridge and the intersection with the road Google Street View Cam is on. It's not possible to do that with the road in Elkhart, Indiana. If you start going across the bridge, you'll see the building that used to exist in the open area that is now a park. The offices for the church I attend is located at the corner of the same intersection.
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.771288,-84.9679367,3a,75y,132.25h,89.68t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sY4t04i5UWqQPWi6V9k6ZmA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
 
Not quite a surprising case considering a road crossing with six tracks near Totsuka Station in Kanagawa, Japan blocking a national highway for decades, then they finally replaced it with a tunnel in 2015. Elkart already has Benham Ave tunnel and Prairie St bridge nearby.
 
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