Will Signal at RR Crossing Ever Get Green Light?

NORTH CANAAN — It sounds like the same, decade-old story:Gates and lights will be installed at the Main Street railroad crossing.

What’s different this time is that an upgrade to the adjacent traffic signal is almost complete.

The state Department of Transportation (DOT) has said from the beginning of the project that it would require the signal controls be capable of coordinating the traffic lights with the rail crossing.

Here’s how it’s supposed to work: Traffic lights on both Main and Railroad streets will remain red whenever the gates are down for a Housatonic Railroad Company train.

Drainage problems at the grade crossing are delaying the completion of the project, though. The signal and crossing sit at one of the lowest elevations in the town center.

"Water is a real problem there, not just for the railroad but the road itself," said Randy Eick, a supervising engineer for DOTRail. "The new traffic signals are designed to accept six pre-emptive circuits to work with the crossing gates and lights. Part of it will be underground and we can’t have electronic circuits sitting in water."

Although the state has jurisdiction over the road and railroad right-of-ways, North Canaan has attempted to address drainage problems there over the years, going so far as to install a pipe to the rear of the depot.

Gravity is the enemy. Any water not moved far from the site just migrates back. The Railroad Schedule

The project has moved to the last portion of the design phase, which involves review by a consultant and consultation with local officials.

Eick said a site meeting with First Selectman Douglas Humes will take place soon. The tentative construction date is 2008.

What could halt momentum is the cost. When first proposed, a drainage plan was rejected for its price tag of as much as $1 million. That plan included addressing drainage at the spur that crosses Main Street a few hundred feet to the east. It seemed logical to engineers to connect the two.

Much of the cost, however, was associated with blasting a 20-foot wide path through the granite ledge between the two.

The DOT began to work on separate plans for the crossings, and eventually separated their budgets.

Eick said the projects will likely be done at the same time, but the option remains to do them separately, if the budget dictates.

Of course, costs for materials and labor are now higher. Eick does not have an estimate for the current project, but said the scope of the costs have been identified and can be budgeted. Basically, DOT engineers have been able to show that no less-expensive options are available.

Whether budget funds will be available when the time comes may be another story.

"At this point, our intention is to advertise and build the project," Eick said, adding that since it involves a rail line, the federal government will have input.

The plan is to run a drainage structure parallel to the tracks and, eventually, to the Blackberry River. There will be little room for overland absorption of contaminates before the runoff hits the river.

"Environmental concerns are valid," Eick said. "But this will all be done under DEP [Department of Environmental Protection] permitting. There will also be local review." Will It Be an Improvement?

A controlled railroad crossing would address a concern raised by area residents last year about train whistles they described as loud and long and at all hours.

For the railroad company, it’s about complying with rail regulations for safety and the needs of its customers.

With only one track, Housatonic Railroad needs to run trains at odd hours to stay aheaof demand and run a profitable business.

The company has also expressed concern for the safety of the public and its employees. Currently, using the crossing requires that a worker step out into the road and flag traffic to a stop.

After dark, a flare is lit. Drivers are not always cooperative.

Assumptions by residents are that gates will further slow traffic when the train passes through.

The reality, according to Housatonic, is that the train will be able to pass through quickly and efficiently. What takes time is the need for the train to come to a complete stop, for traffic to be halted and the train to pick up momentum again.