Two railroad crossings closing this week

Railroad crossings in Russellville will take effect Friday, Jan. 30 after recommendations from Norfolk-Southern passed recently.

Two crossings will be affected by the closings and permanent barricades will be erected to deter drivers from using those railroad crossings.

Russellville Mayor David Grissom said that safety was the main concern from the railroad company.

“The letter sent to me and the council cited safety as the main concern and reason that Norfolk-Southern wanted to close these crossings.”

The city of Russellville was contacted by Norfolk-Southern back in the fall of 2014 about closing the two crossings within the city. The city of Russellville held a public hearing on Nov. 18 of 2014 where citizens were allowed to voice their concerns and submit comments or suggestions about the proposed closings. A representative from the Alabama Department of Transportation also attended the public hearing.

“We held the public hearing and let everyone know what was going on and didn’t have any opposition to what was going to be done,” Grissom said. “So we decided to go with the recommendations from the railroad company.”

Based on the recommendations from both the Norfolk-Southern Railroad and the AL-DOT the crossings have decided to be closed at the following locations:

1. James Circle and McKinley St, DOT #727 120C, and

2. Guard Street, DOT #726 388W

Both of the at-grade rail crossings are located in the city of Russellville. The plan according to Norfolk-Southern is to remove the crossings completely and install permanent barricades at both locations.