POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. — The railroad crossing with the second highest number of incidents in Georgia is in metro Atlanta.
Channel 2’s Lori Wilson spoke with city leaders in Powder Springs about how federal money and resident feedback are making a difference.
The city of Powder Springs got $800,000 in federal grant money to study how to make three railroad crossings safer.
“I’ve lived in Powder Springs for over 20 years, so the railroad has always been here,” a neighbor named Yalanda told Channel 2’s Lori Wilson.
Yalanda says she loves her home and the new development going up around her, and said when it comes to the three railroad crossings that are back-to-back in her area, safety is always a priority.
“I do see a need for them to make them safer, especially when we have festivals,” Yalanda said.
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In January of last year, the federal railroad administration awarded the city an $800,000 grant to study how to make three back-to-back crossings safer at Angham and Finch roads, and Huddleston Road along the busy Powder Springs Dallas Road corridor.
“It kinda goes uphill from Powder Springs Dallas Road to the railroad tracks; there’s not a lot of queuing space in there so it presents some difficulties,” Powder Springs community planning program specialist Thomas Neaves said.
Neaves says there are several reasons that the Angham Road crossing has had 15 incidents -- the second highest in the state.
Neaves said the project team developed three proposals this spring to improve safety at the crossings, then gathered public feedback for several months.
“A lot of folks’ comments did have to do with preserving direct access to Powder Springs Dallas Road,” Neaves said.
A couple of weeks ago, the project team presented a single hybrid proposal that reroutes commercial traffic to 278 but builds a bridge and parallel road for residential traffic to get across the crossings safely.
The final day for the public to make comments is on Tuesday.
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