WARSAW — For residents of Warsaw and travelers commuting in the town, north and south-moving trains can pose challenges far beyond just a delay in getting to a final destination. A Norfolk Southern train traveling between Anderson and Goshen has the potential of block all eight streets at once in Warsaw. If the train stops, a commuter’s only way to the other side of the tracks lies several miles to the north at US 30.

In the event of a major emergency requiring police, fire and emergency medical personnel, a slowing or stopped train could trap assets on one side of the tracks, forcing those units to travel north and circumvent the train via the US 30 overpass.

“Our emergency services have pretty much adapted to that concern,” said Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer. “We do have the overpass on 15 and it’s going to delay, but do have that.”

Thallemer added that children walking to school are sometimes delayed or late to arrive. In addition, the same type of issue arises for motorists commuting to work. Hickory street, which shares a footprint with the railroad tracks, is a subject of concern from a safety standpoint. According to Thallemer, this issue is being discussed.

“The Hickory Street concerns have been addressed and funds have been identified and that project will actually probably start this fall,” Thallemer said.

“Norfolk Southern is working with the Indiana Department of Transportation on a grade-crossing safety project in Warsaw,” said Jonathan Glass, manager of public relations for Norfolk Southern. “That project includes installing new crossing gates and lights at all grade crossings in Warsaw, from Lyon Street on the north end of the city to Pope Street on the south end. Employees in Norfolk Southern’s communications and signals group will install and maintain the gates and other warning devices. NS expects to start work on this project later this year. The project is being funded through the federal Section 130 Railway-Highway Crossings program.”

The most prevalent danger with railroad crossings that don’t feature an overpass or underpass is the propensity for train collisions with pedestrians and motorists. While rare, Warsaw does see the occasional train accident involving residents either on foot or in a vehicle, according to Kosciusko County’s Department of Emergency Management.

Aside from the inconvenience of waiting on a train or the potential for colliding with one, other negative impacts of not having a way over or under the train do exist.

When a train stops, traffic on the main thoroughfare of Center Street can back up as much as six or seven blocks.  There have been occasions of trains stopping for longer than just a few minutes in order to allow east-west trains to the south to cross the train intersection located just south of Center Street.

In these cases, motorists are forced either to turn off their vehicles and wait out the delay or head the two miles north to US 30 where an overpass allows motor vehicles to skirt the railroad tracks.

As vehicles sit idling in traffic, pollutants such as fine, particulate matter, or PM, as well carbon monoxide and other harmful agents are released into the air. Over time, these poisons can cause serious health problems and for some, even eventual death. It is estimated that in 2000, approximately 4,000 died prematurely from traffic congestion-related illnesses in 83 cities studied. These deaths came with a price tag of approximately $31 billion. This impact is courtesy of an estimate output of about 1.2 million tons of nitrogen oxide, 34,000 tons of sulfer dioxide and 23,000 tons of PM.

Health concerns are only part of the problem with stagnating in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Traffic congestion in 437 urban areas in 2005 wasted an estimated 2.9 billion gallons of fuel and cost 4.2 billion hours of lost time stuck in traffic. Traffic congestion has been on the rise since 1982 and in Warsaw, frequent train traffic coupled with a lack of east-west fluidity have contributed to the trend. All told, costs for congestion in the U.S. average about $78 billion. For commuters who find themselves on the road during peak times, congestion costs 38 hours of unnecessary travel, an extra 26 gallons of fuel and a price tag of about $710 annually.

In the final part of this series, potential obstacles and pitfalls to the construction of a grade separation crossing at Warsaw’s Center Street will be studied.