Vinland in Winnebago County ordered to upgrade safety at railroad crossing

Justin Marville, Oshkosh Northwestern
Updated ·2 min read

VINLAND ― One railroad crossing in Winnebago County is on track for much-needed safety updates.

The northern Sherman Road crossing in town of Vinland should be getting at least one new stop sign and fresh pavement markings, including new stop lines, sometime early in the new year.

The state Office of the Commissioner of Railroads gave the directives to the town of Vinland while issuing a supplemental final decision on the Wisconsin Central Limited tracks crossing.

According to the decision, Vinland will “relocate the westbound stop ahead sign closer to the crossing than the [advanced warning signs] and install the missing eastbound stop ahead sign in accordance with the Wisconsin Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices by March 15, 2024.”

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Those are just a couple of the safety update directives made in the order, which also includes the following:

  • relocating and maintaining advance warning signs on each approach;

  • maintaining LED-equipped stop signs for improved visibility on each approach;

  • relocating the eastbound stop sign to the crossbuck assembly post; and

  • maintaining the brush and trees within the highway right-of-way for 330 feet down the highway in each direction.

Wisconsin Central Limited was also required to maintain back-to-back retroreflective crossbucks at the at-grade crossing of its tracks and clear brush and trees from the right-of-way for 330 feet down the tracks in each direction.

The supplemental final decision comes after an Office of the Commissioner of Railroads investigator made several recommendations to non-compliance items following an inspection of the crossing.

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Those findings revealed that the corner sight distance available in each quadrant from the safe stopping distance is inadequate “assuming a driver traveling at 55 mph needs to see a train, traveling at 60 mph, when it is 797 feet from the crossing from a point 645 feet down the highway.”

No crashes have been reported at this particular crossing since 1973, according to the findings.

But the report did warn that any potential crash that occurs would likely be serious as “crossings with train speeds of 40 mph and over have a disproportionate number of fatalities.”

Have a story tip or public interest concern? Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Vinland in Winnebago County ordered to upgrade safety at rail crossing