Dave Sanders drives over the BNSF crossing at South 12th Road west of Worden on Monday morning. Sanders said he uses the crossing twice a day and opposed the proposed closure. Yellowstone County commissioners on Tuesday rejected the railway’s proposal to close the crossing. (Jonathan McNiven photo)
Subhead: County commissioners vote to keep it open
by Evelyn Pyburn
BILLINGS — With only one supporter in a room packed with opponents, Yellowstone County Commissioners rejected a proposal to abandon a railroad crossing on South 12th Road near Worden. The proposal was advanced by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway.
Railroad officials wanted to build a 7,000-foot side track to hold trains to improve train traffic flow, explained Jason Sanchez of San Bernardino, California, manager of BNSF public projects. He was the sole proponent.
In their unanimous vote against it, county commissioners advised Sanchez that the railroad might be more successful, in the future, if it communicates in advance with the neighborhood and is willing to offer improvements and to negotiate alternatives.
As it is, said commissioners after hearing testimony from dozens of people, eliminating the crossing would pose too great an inconvenience and create safety issues for the community.
The next useable crossings, which Sanchez suggested as alternatives, were miles out of the way and were not even paved, as is the crossing on South 12.
In cases of an emergency, using them would consume “precious minutes,” said Worden Fire Chief Carl Midgley, who said the fire department was “100 percent totally against it.” Using the recommended alternate crossings on Road 10 and Road 14 “would cost us a severe amount of time backtracking,” said Midgley, referring to the response time of ambulance and fire calls.
Sarah Fowler, who lives on Road 11, said that the crossings on Road 10 and Road 14 are not safe. They are not paved and are not even signaled. Other speakers said that the proposed alternate crossings were not just a mile away, as Sanchez stated, but were three or four miles away. Sanchez said that the railroad chose that location for its proposed siding because the stretch has no creeks and no bridges.
Road 12 serves a wide range of community functions, including farmers hauling product to market, the delivery of supplies and equipment to area businesses and commuters going to work. It provides a short cut of sorts to Interstate 94.
It’s a very busy road and crossing, said John Eshleman. Eshleman lives along South 12th Road, and one day counted 40 trucks from the feedlot traveling the road within a short period of time.
The owner of that feedlot, Dan Vogel, said that he hauls out 400 loads of cattle a year.
“My neighbors haul out thousands of loads of sugar beets and bushels of barley, and feeds stuff,” Vogel said. “The railroad has no respect or use for people who use their crossings. My farm has been there for 95 years, and hope to use it for the next 95 years.”
Susan Tombrink, who lives near the crossing, submitted a petition to the county commissioners with 54 signatures on it from people who opposed the closing of the crossing.
“It is heavily used and closing it down would be a major inconvenience,” she said.
Richard Tombrink said that using the other crossings would generate more accidents.
“The other crossings do not even have stop signs,” he said. He said he counted 10 manure trucks crossing the railroad tracks in 20 minutes.
Dale Karst pointed out that closing the crossing and using the other crossings would force farmers to travel further on the busy highway with their equipment, increasing the traffic hazards. Highway 312 has hundreds of trucks on it a year, he said. “We use it almost every day.”
As it is, said Commissioner Bill Kennedy, the railroad parks trains for long periods of time, leaving people stuck, “sometimes for hours.” He asked that Sanchez inform his superiors of the problem and to perhaps “start breaking their trains down.”
Commissioner John Ostlund said, “The railroad provides a valuable service,” but they need to “come down and meet with the community.”
Sanchez said he would relay the messages.
“We want to be good neighbors,” he said.
Commissioner Jim Reno served on the committee – the board of viewers — which investigated the petition to close the crossing and which recommended denial. He said that closing it posed too many safety hazards.
