Road work on Norcross railroad crossing to take 3 months, impact downtown

NORCROSS, Ga. — Drivers in one Gwinnett County city are running into a detour as crews began work Monday to keep trucks from getting stuck on some railroad tracks.

The road work along Holcomb Bridge Road may have a short-term impact on the downtown area of Norcross.

A road block will be here for the next three months as crews work to fix the dangerous crossing.

John Varnell lives a block from the Holcomb Bridge railroad crossing. He fears drivers trying to find another way around downtown Norcross will cut through his small nearby alleyway.

"I think it's going to be a big traffic jam," Varnell told Channel 2's Tony Thomas.

Crews will spend the spring raising the area on the west side of the tracks to make it an easier crossing and prevent crashes.

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One of the latest cases happened in January 2018 when a moving truck got stuck on the tracks, despite numerous signs telling semitruck drivers to go around.

A train hit the semi. Luckily, no one was injured, but the crash sent debris flying across downtown Norcross.

Rukhsana Aguilar's Taste of Britain store is right across the street from the construction.

She's been working with other business owners and the city to make sure signs help direct lost customers to the right place.

“We are hoping all the people who use it as a cut-through will find somewhere else to cut through and the people who really want to come down to downtown Norcross will find a way,” Aguilar told Thomas.

Varnell hopes to never again hear that crashing sound of a train versus truck again.

“Hopefully it will eliminate a lot of this danger. I mean if a (tractor-trailer) gets stuck here it could easily go through the restaurant here.

Crews expect the construction to continue well into May.

Cox Media Group