Really Rough Railroad Crossings

[MQT1223]

Anyone in Michigan, or any other state knows of that one REALLY bad railroad crossing that they just dread crossing, regardless of whether it's in the town you live in or it's on the way to work. At some point they finally get redone, or they continue to cause havoc.

I passed Porter St. in Wyoming, Michigan the other night and noticed the road was closed at the crossing. The 3 track crossing that is in REALLY bad shape is finally getting repaved. Its a wonder that CSX has to hardly maintain it since only crossbucks are present and only the yard job ever goes in there. I had to take my time going over that crossing, the speed limit of was not something that I would recommend being anywhere near when it came to crossing those rails.

Anyone else have some really rough crossings to show or tell?

[Saturnalia]

I'm sure raildudes dad can elaborate on the costs and such. Interesting stuff, as usual.

One bad one I can think of is Alpine Ave on MQT just south of Sparta. It is 95% pothole fill. BADLY needs to be redone, but it actually isn't too bad to drive over.

Thankfully the CSX Mainlines downtown were redone in 2012? with the concrete pads. Have held up great!

[iKJames]

best example I can think of is in North Toledo, OH where CN crosses Manhattan Boulevard - that is pure torture!

[DT&I]

RT. 65 west of Deshler used to be really bad but has since been redone, the SE wye in Deshler used to be terrible but has also been redone. Seriously if you had ever driven over the SE at Deshler you know what it used to be like.

[EWRice]

3rd St in Ferrysburg is getting real bad. That is a problematic crossing anyway and needs to be overbuilt. All the loaded fuel trucks stop and take off across the tracks. Then, you have both loaded and unloaded gravel trains turning off the off ramp next to the tracks. I don't dare drive over it at more than 3-4 mph.

They finally fixed Taylor Ave in Grand Haven. I could watch the boards bounce up 6 inches or better as I drove over that one.

[ConrailMan5]

Elizabeth street in Dearborn. Was redone with one of those pre-fab concert crossings... Which is great when the crossing is flat. Here the crossing must rise a few feet to be level with the row. So the result is a 3-5 inch piece of concrete you have to drive up and over.

[MQT1223]

In Holly, Grange Hall Road used to be so bad they had SIGNS put up by the road commission warning you ahead of time. The road crossed CSX on the northeast side of town. Speed limit was about 50 MPH and it was not for the faint of heart. They finally fixed the crossing roughly ten years ago but the signs were left up for some time after.

[GP30M4216]

How's Dearborn Avenue at Delray these days? It always seemed like in the past, either the Conrail side or the NS/CSX side was in real bad shape....and they would alternate every few years....

[MQT1223]

Couple of the crossings around here where the rails stick up are getting bad because of that only reason. Chicago Drive and 32nd Ave on the NYC are getting this way. The crossings themselves are fine but the rails stick up above the road. I bet the road commission hates it when the plow blades hit the rails. A bunch of the crossings by Joe Brown are getting really bad but those will never be touched due to the truck traffic. The Crossings that Grand Elk ripped out by using the CSX spur into Joe Brown were some of the worst in Grand Rapids. Fulton St, Watson Ave, Butterworth... All gone now. They were all bad, and the ones that weren't ripped out are really bad still.

[ConrailDetr​oit]

How's Dearborn Avenue at Delray these days? It always seemed like in the past, either the Conrail side or the NS/CSX side was in real bad shape....and they would alternate every few years....

The Detroit Line side is in what we would call good condition, replaced sometime in the last few years. The NS/CSX side is ready for replacement. There is a section of track sitting at the crossing. The Westbound NS main has sunken down so much that locomotive plows sometimes scrape the pavement.

Until replaced exactly two years ago, the crossing at Caniff St on the Holly Sub was in worst shape with vehicle going no faster than 5 mph over the tracks. About a half mile south on the DCON, the crossing at Trombly St was the same way until recently replaced.

[ConrailMan5]

How's Dearborn Avenue at Delray these days? It always seemed like in the past, either the Conrail side or the NS/CSX side was in real bad shape....and they would alternate every few years....

last year, the asphalt had shifted so much, a CSX Q Freight scraped a bunch of it up with its snow plow to put it into perspective. Despite that I don't think it is the worst crossing ive driven over.

[Ypsi]

The Westbound NS main has sunken down so much that locomotive plows sometimes scrape the pavement.

Here is a shot of said happening with a KCS unit at Delray. Look by the corners of the plow, it basically looks like black snow but it was most certainty pavement

[J T]

I passed Porter St. in Wyoming, Michigan the other night and noticed the road was closed at the crossing. The 3 track crossing that is in REALLY bad shape is finally getting repaved.

Just to clarify, the the 3-track crossing is on Beverly, not Porter.

[wyrickj]

CSX on Front St in Grand Rapids by the Grand River bridge is getting bad. It looks to me like part of the crossing board/plate is coming up out of the road and is uneven so one side is sunk and the other side is sticking up in the air

[MQT1223]

I passed Porter St. in Wyoming, Michigan the other night and noticed the road was closed at the crossing. The 3 track crossing that is in REALLY bad shape is finally getting repaved.

Just to clarify, the the 3-track crossing is on Beverly, not Porter.

Yes Beverly, not Porter. That's what I mean't.

Cedar St, in Owosso is bad on both crossings, HESR and GLC are both in need of serious work.

[GTW6401]

How's Dearborn Avenue at Delray these days? It always seemed like in the past, either the Conrail side or the NS/CSX side was in real bad shape....and they would alternate every few years....

Barricades were up at the crossing on Dearborn Avenue this afternoon. CSX is also working on the crossing on West Detroit Branch at Chicago/Central.

CN is finishing up the crossing work on South Main Street in Royal Oak. They were putting in the new asphalt today.

[ThatRailfanningKid]

Barnes Rd. south of mason is a fun crossing to drive over.