NCDOT considers closing rail crossings in Mooresville

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Mooresville drivers may be forced to find a new way home or to work. Channel 9 found out the state is considering closing crossings along a Norfolk Southern Railroad that goes through the northern and downtown parts of the town.

[MAP: Mooresville railroad crossings]

The North Carolina Department of Transportation conducted a $150,000 study to find out how to make the railroad safer as the area grows.

"The traffic is terrible," resident Shirley Abernathy said.

Abernathy doesn't need a clock. She can tell what time it is by the cars roaring past her home.

"At 5 (p.m.) I know it's 5. They start coming through here," Abernathy said.

She has a front row seat to the action on Statesville Highway, where she says she watches traffic back up and cars collide crossing the railroad tracks.

"There (are) wrecks all the time and almost mishaps but 18-wheelers are the worst thing. They have a sign over there, but they still try to come across there and they get hung (up)," Abernathy said.

NCDOT said that's a big problem at the Norman Drive Crossing, and one reason it is on the list of six crossings that could close.

NCDOT conducted a study to look at traffic patterns along the railroad and now it's ready to present its findings. Transportation officials are considering building new roads and crossings to accommodate the area's growth and that would mean closing some crossings.

Mooresville resident Sam Vowles lives near the crossing at Catawba Avenue but isn't concerned.

"There (are) a dozen other crossings I could use," Vowles said.

But he worries the closures could hurt businesses.

"It would make it worse, probably, to shut down some of these roadways," he said.

Abernathy agrees but feels it's necessary to make the area safe.

"It would inconvenience a lot of people but it is a dangerous crossing," Abernathy said.

NCDOT officials are hoping community members will show up to a community meeting about the recommendations from 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 2, in the Merchant Room at the Charles Mack Citizens Center.

Cox Media Group