Public meeting set June 4 on fate of Parkerson crossing

The Mayor and City Council of the City of Rayne are planning to meet in a public meeting Thursday, June 4, at 5:30 p.m. to hear a proposal by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to permanently barricade and remove the roadway of Parkerson Street within Burlington Northern Sante Fe Property on both sides of the BNSF main line tracks. Residents are urged to attend and learn more about railroad safety.
DOTD and BNSF Railway have worked with the City of Rayne for more than a decade to complete a joint Federal Railroad Safety Corridor Project. Six of the city’s seven railroad crossings were updated, costing roughly $1 million. The safety of the traveling public has been researched by several entities, and the Parkerson Street crossing has been recommended for closure because of safety risks. Also, DOTD traffic counts show Parkerson Street has the least traffic of any BNSF mainline crossing in the area. The national recommendation for mainline crossings is no more than five within a mile. Rayne has seven.
Bill Shrewsberry, engineer with LDOTD, will be on hand at this meeting to present a history of the corridor, to explain the proposal to the public, and to answer questions.
This is being presented as the City Council will soon need to consider whether or not to cooperate with LDOTD in proceeding with the closure. A decision not to cooperate with this closure declaration by LDOTD will very likely result in LDOTD proceeding to close the crossing anyway. A decision to cooperate will lead to the City receiving a $20,000 grant from BNSF to the City.