A rail crossing in the Pickardville area may be closed and relocated, but it’s unclear where the new crossing will be and when the work will take place.
CN Rail has advertised plans to build a long siding, which will serve as a passing track, south of Westlock within the existing rail right of way.
As part of that process, CN will close the existing road crossing at Township Road 592 just west of Highway 44. The crossing will be relocated 880 metres to the north, according to the company’s advertisement in the Feb. 10 Westlock News.
Anyone wishing to present their views on the proposal is asked to do so in writing by sending an e-mail to [email protected] by Feb. 27, 2014.
Brent Kossey, a senior manager of stakeholder relations with the company, confirmed plans to build a passing track, and said this project won’t affect any of the crossings within the town itself.
Instead, he said the change will be that the existing crossing at Township Road 592 would be closed and one located to the north, which is currently closed, would be opened.
“The road north of the 592 crossing the tracks is closed right now,” he said. “They’re basically switching those two. One will get closed and one will get open.”
While there are several road crossings along the rail line between Pickardville and Westlock, including at township roads 590, 592 and 594 and at range roads 265 and 270, none of them are currently closed to car traffic.
Kossey confirmed the company’s plans to relocate the crossing to 880 metres north of the current location — but 880 metres north of the current crossing, a half mile, there is no intersecting township road.
As for plans for the rail crossings in town — local emergency services providers and the town council have expressed concerns that sometimes all three crossings are blocked preventing access to Whissellville — he said he had no information about those plans.
“I don’t have any information on that, specifically,” he said.
Kossey did not respond to several requests for clarification about CN’s plans.
