The Wyoming Valley Levee overseer is considering a new approach to address unpopular railroad crossing fencing that interrupts the recreational path atop the flood-control system in Edwardsville.
Fencing was installed last April to stop the public from crossing an intersecting, active Norfolk Southern Railway train line.
Norfolk Southern, which owns the land containing the track, required the fencing as part of an agreement granting permission for the authority to modify the crossing so a gate system could be quickly set up when the Susquehanna River rises, eliminating the need for more than 1,500 sandbags, the authority said.
However, vandals have cut and pulled back the fencing barricade, allowing the public to pass through the openings and continue traveling on the recreational path.
Local resident and avid bicyclist Michael Giamber also has observed people navigating steep embankments adjacent to the fenced-in zone so they could reach the other side of the path. These people still crossed the train tracks in a different spot beyond the fencing, defeating the purpose of the barricade, he has said.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the authority is set to approve an application with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, or PUC, to formally and officially make this crossing public.
Flood authority Chairman Dominic Yannuzzi said a public crossing designation would allow the PUC to assist the authority and railroad in identifying a solution that meets current safety requirements.
Options could include updated signs, pavement markings and arm gates that block the path when trains are coming through, Yannuzzi said.
The Edwardsville crossing meets the parameters of a public crossing because it passes through a publicly-owned levee used by pedestrians and bicyclists, Yannuzzi added.
This section of the levee trail connects Edwardsville to Kirby Park and beyond. The crossing is near the Wilkes University women’s softball field and Kirby Park tennis courts.
Authority representatives already started discussions with the PUC about assembling the public crossing application, Yannuzzi said.
PUC spokesperson Nils Hagen-Frederiksen said all rail crossing proposals begin with an application to the PUC that details the proposed project and includes notification to all interested parties.
The PUC makes decisions on which warning measures are required at public crossings based on visibility, traffic, accident reports, a crossing’s history and other factors, the agency has said.
If PUC-approved warning devices — signs, lights or gates — are missing or not operational, the commission can require train operators to stop and send flaggers out ahead of their train to make sure the path is clear, according to prior published reports.
In addition to the Edwardsville crossing, the authority is seek PUC involvement in two other Norfolk crossings where the levee passes beneath the railroad bridge in Kingston near the Kingston Public Works facility and where the levee access ramp passes under the railroad bridge in Wilkes-Barre near the end of Riverside Drive, the agenda said.
Authority representatives said they had to proceed with the Edwardsville modification project that resulted in the fencing because the authority’s primary mission is flood control, not recreation.
The new stop-log system of aluminum beams at the crossing takes a team of two or three about an hour to assemble, with the components stored nearby. In comparison, the past sandbag operation required six workers and about 27 hours to prepare and set in place, according to a report compiled by the authority.
Yannuzzi said the authority worked with Norfolk Southern for more than a year to reach an agreement to proceed with the modification.
“The railroad would not let us build a new closure structure for quicker response time without us agreeing to close the crossing,” he said. “It was of utmost importance for us to finalize that project to make the levee system safer.”
In other business, the authority is not yet scheduled to vote on a possible new policy regulating the use of electric bikes atop the levee. Authority members are still reviewing the matter.
Tuesday’s meeting is at 1 p.m. in the authority building, 1989 Wyoming Ave. in Forty Fort.