Martin Co., TX - News: Officials Seek Approval for 5th R.R. Crossing Arm
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Submitted to the Martin County, TXGenWeb by:
Michelle White <knightchow@grandecom.net>
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Stanton officials seeking approval for fifth railroad crossing arm
Colin Guy - Staff Writer
Midland Reporter-Telegram
01/03/2007

City suffers fourth fatality from train, vehicle collision in almost a year.

STANTON -- Stanton city officials indicated their city is high on the list of
locales seeking funding for a railroad crossing arm for the fifth, and only
remaining, crossing that lacks a safety device.

In a little more than a year the city has experienced four fatalities
resulting from train and vehicle collisions, the most recent of which occurred
on New Year's Eve.

Stanton Police Chief Michael Adams told the Reporter-Telegram that around 5
p.m. Dec. 31, 2006 an eastbound Union Pacific train struck 76-year-old Pedro
Avalos' truck as he was trying to drive through the St. Peter Street railroad
crossing. A woman was killed after a train collision on Christmas Eve in 2005
at the St. Boniface railroad crossing and since then three other fatalities
have occurred, including Avalos, but before that Adams said he could not
remember any fatalities as a result of trains colliding with vehicles.

"I can only remember one other vehicle and train accident in 21 years, until
Christmas Eve, and that one didn't result in serious injury," he said.

Adams said a crossing arm was installed at the St. Boniface Street crossing
two to three months ago, and the St. Peter Street crossing is now the only one
of five railroad crossings in the city that does not have a protective
barrier.

City Manager Danny Fryar said the Texas Department of Transportation has a
priority list to determine where funds for the installation of crossing arms
are allocated and Stanton is now high on the list due to the spate of train
collisions over the past year. He said the city has qualified for the roughly
$65,000 to $75,000 needed for a new crossing arm, but TxDOT officials will
have to approve the funding in May. After that, he said, it will take about 16
months for the crossing arms to be installed. Fryer said beyond appealing to
TxDOT for assistance there is nothing more the city is authorized to do to
protect motorists, and noted even with the crossing arms in place the
possibility of further fatalities will remain.

"The thing is we have people go through the crossing gates, the gates don't
stop people from going across," he said. "There's only about 13 seconds from
when the gate drops down, you don't have much time to get out of the way."

Adams said he is not entirely certain what is behind the sharp increase in
train collisions over the past year. He said there has been an increase in the
amount of freight passing through town, but that has been true for the past
three years. However, he noted that the speed limit for trains was recently
raised from around 55 to 75 mph, but added that railroad officials have stated
the higher speeds contribute toward safety by allowing trains to pass through
populated areas more quickly, reducing the number of opportunities available
for a collision to occur. Officials from Union Pacific could not be reached by
the Reporter-Telegram.

"They may be right, but the only thing that sticks in our minds is we didn't
have this string of events until the speed limit changed," he said. "It leaves
no room for error."
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