Closed bridge and railroad crossing block Nemours community
Sep. 7—nemours — Concerns about a closed one-lane bridge and trains cutting off a neighborhood when they stop at a railroad crossing are currently being addressed by the West Virginia Division of Highways and Norfolk Southern Railroad.
John DeLellis of Pinnacle Lake Road, which runs between Falls Mills Road and Jimmy Lewis Lake at Pinnacle Rock State Park, said Friday that a single-lane bridge near the lake was closed around two months ago after the Division of Highways inspected it and deemed it unsafe.
DeLellis said his neighborhood, which has about 20 families, gets cut off from the rest of the county when trains stop at a nearby railroad crossing.
"If it's not once a day, it's 10 times a day at least," he said. "It happens at times when there's not a lot of traffic — late at night, during the morning — but usually during the daylight hours they'll do it at least one time."
How long a train stops at the crossing varies, DeLellis said.
"It can be anywhere from five minutes to an hour and a half, two hours," he said.
This combination of a closed bridge and stopped trains cuts off the neighborhood and could be hazardous when an ambulance or other first responder is needed, DeLellis said, adding that a woman who is six months pregnant and a young man who is paraplegic and autistic live in the neighborhood.
Keith Gunnoe, director of the Mercer County Office of Emergency Management, said Friday that the situation in Nemours was brought to his attention about a week and a half ago.
Gunnoe said he spoke with Norfolk Southern Railroad officials and learned that the railroad has been doing maintenance work further down the track, causing trains to slow down or stop. Federal law does allow trains to stop at crossings for around 20 minutes at a time, but there have been times when trains stopped beyond that limit.
After speaking with the Norfolk Southern train master, railroad officials were made aware of the problem and it was forwarded to the railroad's main dispatch center in Atlanta, Ga., Gunnoe said.
"I expressed my concern to the railroad that should people need an ambulance, fire or police, they would not be able to reach (Nemours neighborhood)," he said.
Gunnoe said the Norfolk Southern train master told him to pass on complaints if he receives any and the railroad will try to keep the crossing clear.
The state Division of Highways plans to replace the single-lane bridge and has ordered steel beams for that purpose, Gunnoe said.
An exact date for the work had not been set.
"Once that takes place, it won't be such an issue with the railroad crossing," Gunnoe said.
Contact Greg Jordan at
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
