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Northwood Meeting Set for Rail Overpasses

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

By David Patch, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

Apr. 5--State plans for two overpasses on Wales Road that would eliminate three railroad crossings in Northwood will be the subject of an Ohio Department of Transportation meeting late this afternoon at the Northwood administration building.

The design is similar to that presented at previous meetings, but a realigned Wales is not as far south as it had been in prior versions, Mike Ligibel, ODOT's district planning administrator in Bowling Green, said yesterday.

When built, the bridges would allow motorists on Wales to travel above busy Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation railroad tracks that are often blocked by stopped or slow-moving trains.

Motorists on Drouillard Road, which intersects Wales in the area, would have a longer route to travel between Oregon and Walbridge but no longer be subject to delays at another Norfolk Southern crossing.

The project is budgeted at $11 million, of which $5.9 million would come from a state program to build bridges at busy rail crossings where train delays create public safety problems.

According to ODOT's plans, the project will require condemning one residence and altering 12 private driveways.

The meeting today will have an open-house format, in which the state's plans will be on display and officials will be available to answer questions and receive comments. The session is to run from 4 to 7 p.m.

Pat Bacon, Northwood's city administrator, said with few exceptions, residents and city officials are looking forward to the overpasses because the railroad tracks bisect the nine-square-mile city. Oregon and Walbridge residents who work in Northwood often have shorter commutes than locals do, she said, because they don't encounter chronic train delays.

"I hope that it definitely can unify the city," she said. "It's always been the west side and east side of Northwood. When it's done, you will be able to traverse from the east to the west without having to stop for trains."

Two other rail lines still will cross Wales in central Northwood once the bridges are finished. While neither is as busy as the two that the ODOT project will bridge, one of them is normally used by Norfolk Southern for train parking, and recoupling train cars to resume movement afterward sometimes blocks the road for a half-hour or longer.

Blade staff writer Erika Ray contributed to this report.

Contact David Patch at: dpatch@theblade.com or 419-724-6094.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

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Source: The Blade

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