Craven railroad crossings studied for improving or closing

A dozen railroad crossings in Craven County will be studied for possible improvement or closing within the next three years.

The Craven crossings are among 43 being studied in a $7.6 million joint project by the North Carolina Railroad Co. and the state Department of Transportation Rail Division.

Four Craven crossings will be studied for possible closing and six are being viewed for the addition of crossing gates.

Spokesman Joan Bagherpour of the department's Rail Division said the list was a preliminary proposal and no action would be taken until public meetings were held and local governments approved.

There is a possibility of adding gates or closing the crossing at Guion Street, the only crossing on the list inside New Bern. There are four businesses within a block of the Guion Street crossing. Guion connects George and Craven streets.

Several businessmen said they would not want to see the Guion crossing closed to through traffic.

"I don't want it closed. I would prefer gates, because it is used by traffic, including school buses," said Roy Smith, who owns a surveying business, Southern Boundaries, a half block from the crossing. "I guess for that reason (school buses) it would be a good one for a gate."

Greg Pescuma, who has worked for eight years at Register's Glass Shop - a block from the crossing - also thought closing the Guion Street crossing would be a bad idea.

"Crossing gates, I don't see as a problem, because the train usually just stops there and sits there for 20 minutes and nobody can get through anyway," he said. "As far as closing, I could see that as a detriment to business."

He said traffic on the connector street includes residents and delivery trucks.

Crossings listed for possible addition of safety gates include Catfish Lake Road, Campo Kiro Road near James City, Clark's Road near New Bern, Upcreek Road in Cove City, N. Main Street in Dover and Kornegay Street near Dover.

Seven of the Craven County crossings are near or in Dover along old U.S. 70 in the western end of the county.

Dover Mayor Malcolm Johnson said there was no public opposition to closing several crossings in or near town.

He cited safety concerns as being a positive for closing crossing at Old Dover Road, N. West Street, S. Company Street and North Main. Johnson said large trucks had difficulty at several crossings and there were fears they could become stuck on the tracks.

The Dover proposals include relocating the crossing and adding safety gates on Railroad Street.

Drew Thomas, safety engineer manager with Department of Transportation  Rail Division, said that at this point the project was in the study and design phase.

"The decisions will be based on the total package of engineering and public needs," he said.

In Carteret County, the department will look at 10 crossings, six in or near Newport and four others in Morehead City. Thomas said the proposed closing of crossovers at the hospital and fire department in Morehead City had been approved earlier by Morehead's town board.

The overall project involves 43 public crossings between Selma and Morehead City, in Johnston, Wayne, Lenoir, Craven and Carteret counties. The state Department of Transportation will fund 56 percent of the project, with the North Carolina Railroad paying 24 percent, and the remaining 20 percent coming from Norfolk Southern railway.

Scott Saylor, president of the North Carolina Railroad, said his company had invested more than $50 million on the coastal train line since 2001.

"As the state grows, traffic increases at crossings. We want to ensure that these crossings are improved for safety and to meet increased train and highway traffic," he said.

Bagherpour said this project was part of the Department of Transportation's comprehensive statewide program to enhance safety by adding or improving signals and gates. She said mechanical warning devices are in place at more than 2,400 of the state's 4,121 public at-grade crossings.

The N.C. Railroad owns and manages a 317-mile rail corridor from Morehead City to Charlotte, carrying 70 freight and eight passenger trains daily.