City welcomes questions on Norfolk Southern’s plan to close five crossings
At a Chamber luncheon, Safety-Service Director Jeffrey Crosby said 100 trains a day will cross Center Street once the yard expansion is done.
Norfolk Southern’s request to close five grade crossings in Bellevue dominated Thursday’s Bellevue Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Willows, attended by nearly 40 people.
Mayor Donald Berkey introduced himself and city staff and said he hoped the city would be better off at the end of his four-year term. He then turned the program over to Safety-Service Director Jeffrey Crosby.
Crosby said the railroad approached the city a couple of months earlier about Center Street, where slowing trains restrict movement in and out of the yard. The railroad replaced one track there with two, and about 100 trains a day are expected to cross. In talks with the city, Norfolk Southern asked for four more crossings to be closed as well. Crosby showed a map of all five and said another meeting with the railroad was coming, and that the city wanted residents’ questions before deciding.
What followed: the city’s annexation offer and the demand to reopen Center Street. Crossing data: Federal Railroad Administration. More in Farm & Rail.