In September 2015 we covered a story about the conditions of the railroad crossing on Hwy 63 in Ravenden, at that time the Ravenden Volunteer Fire Department and Ravenden Police had responded several times to concrete breaking at the crossing and malfunctioning lights. Citizens called the number listed and made numerous reports about the problems.
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Now over a year later, then only thing that has changed is it has gotten more dangerous. As cars go across the tracks they are actually crossing into the oncoming traffic lanes to avoid the rough crossing. The crossing is so rough their have been reports of vehicles damaged by the crossing. This has created an even bigger problem with motorist leaving the lane to avoid the rough crossing and moving into the oncoming traffics lane.
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We were told a year ago by several who had called the number and reported the damaged crossing that the railroad had plans to correct the problem even going as far as to detail the rerouting of traffic around Lawrence 106 until it could be corrected. Well as you can clearly see by the video posted by Fred Dail of Ravenden this has not been corrected and is still a dangerous crossing.
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We appreciate Fred for bringing this to the attention of the public. As Fred points out on his video, this is putting commuter lives in danger. This is not just a warning, this crossing will be the cause of a serious injury or death if not addressed soon.
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The irony of this is, if this was a county road or city street this would have already been closed for safety and a provisions would be underway to correct the problem. But for some reason, railroad officials have ignored this problem and placed the burden of safety back on our local fire departments and police.
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We ask that you join the citizens of Ravenden and contact the number and report the crossing. Maybe if enough people get on board we can do our part in protecting the thousands of cars that pass over this crossing every single day.
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The phone number and crossing number are listed below.
Original Article:
Concerns about a potential hazard at the Hwy 63 railroad crossing have been posted to social media with hopes of citizens getting involved and raising enough awareness that the railroad will take notice and repair a potentially dangerous situation.
According to reports the damaged crossing on Hwy 63 is causing motorist to change lanes into oncoming traffic to avoid the rough and damaged part of the crossing. Motorist and citizens are urged to call the Emergency Number posted at the crossing and report the hazard, this process takes just 60 seconds and could save a life.
The BNSF Emergency Number listed is 1-800-832-5452, according to the post you will be asked for a DOT Number identifying the crossing, that number is 667939N.
Concerns for this crossing have been voiced in the past, not only the condition of the concrete crossing but also the malfunctioning lights at the crossing. The Ravenden Volunteer Fire Department along with Ravenden Police have had to spend many hours warning traffic when the crossing lights have malfunctioned at the same crossing.
We again want to thank Fred Dail for sharing his video and for bringing this to the attention of many!!!
