Community Corner

Residents Respond to Car Crash At Vicksburg Railroad Crossing in Plymouth

The Monday morning car crash into a power pole caused a power outage to more than 200 homes in northwest Plymouth.

The signs say 30 mph and bump ahead, but not everyone is slowing down.

And Monday morning a car crashed into a power pole on Vicksburg Lane after taking a recently altered railroad crossing too fast. 

The Canadian Pacific Railway made modifications to the tracks in June and the grading of the tracks was raised about six inches higher than the road creating a dip where the road meets up with tracks. 

The city had no say in what was done with the railroad and has made efforts with the CP Railway and contacted MnDOT on working out a solution. In the meantime, the city has posted 30 mph signs, a "bump ahead" sign and pylons leading up to the tracks indicating the grade change ahead. 

But many residents are concerned about what is happening there now, especially since the July 15 car accident. Below are comments from Plymouth MN Patch and on Facebook from people. 

On Plymouth MN Patch:

Dave Haas said:
"I'm not a traffic engineer, but it seems to me that they (city) should be able to build up the pavement on both sides minimizing the dip... because now it almost like you go down, then up at the tracks then the bottom really drops out."

Maryanne Reilly-Spong said:
"It's fortunate that the vehicle involved in this morning's crash didn't cross over into oncoming traffic. Road conditions were good this morning. This crossing will be even more treacherous when roads are wet or icy."

Kristen Peek said:
"I saw the accident scene this morning about 7am. I have been driving this road for 16 years and this is the worst this crossing has ever been. It is ridiculous. Tons of vehicles are damaging the underside of their cars. This will not be the last accident here. Nice job by the engineer that designed this.....NOT!"

On Facebook

Jeff Weiner said:
"It went from bad to worse. You really need to be going 10-15 mph southbound. There are usually various car parts laying on the shoulder from people going too fast. Northbound is a bit better - I can take it at 25-30 in my sedan and 35-40 in my wife's SUV. Still, the railroad closed the road for more than a week and I'm not sure they could have had a worse result if they planned it."

Deb Sorg said:
"There needs to be a big warning sign BEFORE the tracks -- not right AT the crossing. I was caught off guard myself and hit the brakes b/c it was fixed a few years ago and was no problem for a long time... I think people just aren't aware that it's so bad again?"

Joe Antilla said:
"When the asphalt is full of scrapes from trailer hitches, you know it needs to be fixed."

Therese Noren said:
"We lived here before it was fixed the first time. Before that you didn't dare drive overs it at more than a crawl. If you did, you never did it twice. Throw up a couple more warning signs and let 'em learn the hard way."

Gina Schatz Chamberlain said:
"What exactly did they 'fix' when it was shut down. I feel really bad for people that don't drive this road on a daily basis and know the dips."

Christine Bultman Forbes said:
"It's dangerous. 20 mph max. Needs more signage!!"

What do you think? Share your thoughts in our comment section below!

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