Commissioners hold off on closing two Birdseye railroad crossings

The Dubois County Commissioners decided not to take any action on a request from Norfolk Southern to close two railroad crossings near Birdseye.

The railroad offered the county up to $50,000 to close two county road railroad crossings — King Street’s west entrance to State Road 64 and County Road 1175.

According to the railroad, in the 22-state area Norfolk Southern covers, Indiana has consistently held the number two spot in crashes or incidents at railroad crossings the company operates. As a result, the company is seeking to reduce the number of crossings lacking gates, safety devices or warning signals to reduce incidents.

After being approached by the railroad with the offer at the last meeting, commissioners had the highway department conduct a traffic count on the two roads.

At Monday’s Dubois County Commissioner meeting, County Engineer Brent Wendholdt reported there were 169 northbound and 185 southbound (from State Road 64 across the tracks) vehicles through the west entrance of King Street over seven days. He also reported that County Road 1175 saw 805 vehicles entering the highway from the rock road and 1,387 vehicles coming from the highway over a week.

He added that though he was surprised by the traffic measured on County Road 1175, work was going on the railroad during the same timeframe.

“But, it’s still a significant amount of people,” Wendholdt told commissioners.

Commissioner Chad Blessinger also read a letter from Birdseye Fire Chief Dave Smith during the discussion. Chief Smith requested the county not close either crossing. Smith noted that County Road 1175 is the nearest access point to State Road 64 if a train is stopped on the tracks through the town.

Smith wrote that the train stops were unpredictable, and the “train engineers often stop to enjoy a treat from the Dairy Barn.”

Regarding King Street, Smith wrote that closing the west entrance from State Road 64 would impede farm equipment from accessing properties from the highway. It would also restrict first responders and volunteer firefighters from accessing the street, as well as larger trucks (fire trucks and ambulances) from being able to turn around.

After reading the letter, Blessinger stated he felt it was in the community’s best interest to leave the railroad crossings open at this time.

Commissioner Elmer Brames said he was against closing the railroad crossing on County Road 1175, but he was on the fence regarding King Street. He said that if the county agreed to close the King Street crossing, money could be available to improve the street and add a turnaround. “So, I am open to that one yet,” he said.

Blessinger said they would likely have to purchase property to expand the right-of-way to create a turnaround.

As a sign of cooperation with Norfolk Southern, the highway department did examine other crossings in the county. Based on that, Superintendent Steve Berg noted the two near Birdseye were the best locations to close. Berg advised County Road 1175 shouldn’t be closed, but King Street could be a consideration if they can ensure Norfold Southern won’t hinder residents’ access to the street and see if there is land to provide a turnaround.

“My move would be that we take no action at this time, meaning they will remain open until somebody can present us with additional or better information or we know more,” Blessinger said. “I’m not closing the door on these items completely, but at this time, I am not ready to move forward.”

Commissioners Brames and Nick Hostetter both agreed. No further action was taken.

Here is the previous story on this issue.