A fiber fix to ease the railroad crossing issue on Hamill Road

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – The long delays at a train crossing in Hixson has been quite a community issue.

Now Chattanooga has a tech solution to ease the problem using their fiber network.

The crossing is at Hamill Road, near Memorial Hospital Hixson.

Now the city and Norfolk Southern Railway are using some TDOT funds to develop a system to reroute both emergency vehicles and commuter traffic around the intersection when a train is blocking it.

Mayor Kelly realizes it’s just a patch until they can come up with a better solution.

“While the city continues to work with Norfolk Southern on strategic solutions to our shared infrastructure challenges, I’m proud of our teams for working on a fix that brings relief to motorists in the near term.”

Under the new system, the Norfolk Southern equipment will digitally notify the city’s traffic signal controller when a train blocks the road.  They will then warn emergency vehicles to find another route.

“I am grateful at last for a solution that will help prevent ambulances, fire trucks and commuters from being stuck at this railroad crossing, which has long been a sore spot in our community for many years,” said District 3 City Councilman Ken Smith.

Rep. Robin Smith has been dealing with the issue for awhile.

She says this is a small, but real stop towards improvement of the problem.

“For years, every time I’ve gone door to door to speak with residents, the issue with blocked crossings has been a top issue for the Hixson Community,” said District 26 State Representative Robin Smith. “My thanks to Mayor Tim Kelly and the team at TDOT for pulling together to find a workable solution until a permanent fix is available. This is terrific news for commuters in Hixson.”