Fox Valley repairs delayed until next year
Written by jroodCanadian National Railway won't make permanent repairs on two bumpy crossings until next year, an Outagamie County, Wis., official says, the Appleton Post-Crescent reports. In an e-mail message this past week, CN let the county know it ran out of time to fix the crossings, said Ray Palonen, deputy highway commissioner. The county's demand for a fix on three troublesome crossings goes back to March. Only one of the three was repaired. Here's a county snapshot of the two crossings in need of repairs: o No repairs have been made on the County J crossing south of County OO in the town of Kaukauna. The crossing is still rough and frost likely will raise the pavement along the timbers. o No repairs have been made on the west track on County BB east of Bluemound Drive in Grand Chute. There are potholes and pavement deterioration along timbers, and timbers are in need of replacement. "We'll just have to try to buffer those joints as best we can with some temporary materials until they get them repaired," Palonen said. He said a railroad spokesman indicated CN fully intended to make repairs but "ran out of time." Jackie Macewicz, CN's manager of public works based in Stevens Point, did not return a telephone call seeking comment. Thomas Running, a representative with the state Office of the Commissioner of Railroads, said it meets regularly with railroads. "One of our top priorities at these meetings is making sure the railroad is on top of crossing repairs," he said. "Statutorily, railroads are not required to repair crossings through the winter months." A third Outagamie County crossing, on County S east of County A in Center, was adequately repaired with the re-fastening of timbers, the county said. Palonen said frost gets beneath the pavement and plays havoc with the driving surface. "Last winter when you crossed the County J crossing, you had to drive really slow. We had 'bump' signs up all winter," he said. "We had to put cold mix in there." No one was thrown out of control due to the problem, but the county received a raft of complaints from motorists who use the route, he said. Palonen said County J, accessible off U.S. 41, is a frequently used route by truck traffic serving paper mills in the Heart of the Valley.