NEWTOWN, Ohio — Off and on for years, drivers traveling down Church Street have run into confusion, frustration and traffic congestion. The reason has always been the same: faulty railroad crossing gates.
"It's probably been going on for at least five years," said McCasland, who lives feet away from the crossing.
McCasland told us the gates would drop and stay down even if a train wasn't passing through. When the malfunction happened during rush hour, cars would back up in both directions on the thoroughfare as they waited for police to arrive and direct traffic.
There's a school adjacent to the tracks, so drop-off and dismissal traffic would worsen congestion at times, too.
"Towards the end of the school year, there were school buses and traffic was backed up, and the school buses had to turn around in people's driveways, and I believe there was even a tractor-trailer that had to be directed around. Sometimes it could be hard to get in and out of our driveway. It just makes it really inconvenient," McCasland said. "This is kind of a cut-through road for SR 32, I-275, and over that way in Mariemont to US-50, so there's a lot of through traffic on this road."
Watch for a closer look at the long-awaited repairs underway on the Church Street railroad crossing:
Those delays also tested the patience of drivers and law enforcement.
"People would stop on the tracks, and when the gates were locked down because of a malfunction, they would go along the gates, and not only is that a violation of law, it's a safety issue," Sgt. Jim Vontz said.
Newtown police have direct contact with Cincinnati Eastern Railroad, which owns and operates the railroad crossing, and would notify the company each time the gates malfunction. Though they would show up, Vontz said the repairs would only be temporary.
"Sometimes the response was not very timely — not because they didn't want it to be, but just logistically, it wouldn't be able to occur very quickly," Vontz said. "I understand there's been some supply issues with the parts the railroad needs to get it repaired that have really prevented or hampered things from happening on a quick basis."
Progress only seemed to chug along, but on Wednesday, work on a lasting solution was full speed ahead. Barricades went up on Church Street, blocking off traffic before the morning rush, as crews began emergency repairs.
Vontz said the railroad company is replacing the switch under the crossing that controls the gates. That should prevent them from dropping at random times. The pavement and rails at the crossing will also be replaced.
"It's going to be a relief for everyone who comes through here," Vontz said. "I think the work that they're doing is not only going to improve the surface of the crossing itself, but it's going to improve the reliability of the gates, and speaking to the railroad, they said they're actually putting equipment in place that will assist any future repairs, make it easier to accomplish."
Previously, drivers would have to cross over aging wooden planks. Newtown resident Tim Pulskamp said that would make for precarious situations at times.
"Very crumbly," Pulskamp said. "If you tried going over it more than 20 miles an hour, it would tear up your car."
The retiree doesn't live near the railroad crossing, but he passes through it frequently. He said the repairs are a long-awaited sigh of relief.
"In the meantime, you have to take a small detour, which, to me, is a minor inconvenience," Pulskamp said. "It's worth it to finally get it fixed right."
We reached out to the railroad about the repairs, but didn't hear back by the end of the day Wednesday. Vontz said crews are expected to finish by 3 p.m. Friday, or earlier if weather permits.
"We're really thankful for it," said McCasland. "We're glad that this project is finally coming to fruition."
