BY JUNIOUS SMITH III
Staff Writer
A project started over two years ago will move to the next phase and close down a railroad crossing for good.
On Monday, the Kinston City Council approved its agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, North Carolina Railroad and Norfolk Southern Corporation to permanently close the crossing on College Street.
Mayor B.J. Murphy said the crossing was a hazard to drivers and needed to be taken care of.
“We’re attempting to reduce the number of accidents at the crossings,” Murphy said. “That one in particular has a high rate of accidence and there have been tractor trailers stuck there. It’s a benefit to the city of Kinston.”
In exchange for the closing, Kinston will receive $250,000 from the three entities to mitigate for the impact the closing will have on the city.
Kinston Public Services Director Rhonda Barwick said the plan to close the railroad had been in the works since late 2011.
“In the fall of 2011, the city council negotiated the closure of College Street with North Carolina Railroad, Norfolk Southern and DOT,” Barwick said. “There were public hearings at that time, and we were working on getting all of the necessary agreements together.”
Barwick also said the entities agreed to give the city money in lieu of altering the crossing.
“The crossing was extremely high and was considered a safety issue,” Barwick said. “Rather than trying to modify the roads and raise them for the necessary height, the city of Kinston was offered funds as part of a mitigation effort to close the road.
“The city is going to be resurfacing areas where cars will be diverted to in order to alleviate effects and bring benefit to Kinston citizens having to drive through areas with heavy traffic.”
Of the funds received, about $88,000 will go toward widening Herritage Street, which Kinston City Manager Tony Sears said would help city residents even more.
“We’re widening the road on South Herritage between Hardees and McDonalds,” Sears said. “We’re also going to make it a two-way road so citizens won’t have to go down to the next crossing after the permanent closing.”
The work is projected to be completed by June.
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.