New train alert system aims to keep drivers moving
HIXSON, Tenn. (WDEF) — A new train warning system hopes to redirect drivers stuck on the wrong side of the tracks.
Many Hixson residents have been stuck at the Hamill Road railroad crossing many times. This inconvenience can become life threatening with a nearby hospital.
On Tuesday, an alert system for trains was unveiled, hoping to keep drivers moving.
When asking drivers how annoying it is to get stuck behind a train, Jeff Hunneky responded, “Very. I’m always in a hurry to get somewhere.”
Four new train alert signs, two in Hixson along Hamill and Cassandra Smith Roads and two along Hickory Valley Road, plan to give a heads up on when the roads will be blocked.
“What we can expect is that when we have a prediction of when the train will arrive, that information will be displayed on the message sign,” said Chattanooga Transportation Project Manager Ken Doyle. “It will say something like, “Hamill Road crossing is occupied, six plus minutes to clear.””
The signs will be powered through a partnership with TRAINFO, a company that placed audio sensors along various points of the railroad tracks to detect when trains are coming.
They also will study the effects on emergency response time.
“That’s particularly important here at the Hamill crossing with CHI Memorial right close by,” said interim Chattanooga CIO Jeerle Neeld.
For Hixson drivers, getting stuck on this railroad crossing can be an absolute pain. For example, if you’re heading west along Hamill Road towards Highway 153, you get stuck in a long line of cars. You have to make a U-turn that reroutes you back to Hixson Pike, or head down towards Lake Resort Drive, which right now is under road construction.
Hunneky, a Hixson resident, was stuck behind a train twice on Tuesday.
“Yeah two, yeah. I got stuck in one about an hour ago, so this is my second one today,” he explained.
City leaders hope this is just a temporary solution.
“It is a compromise relative to the incredible cost and the complexity of rerouting the entire road to go over or under the trains… We’re not going to give where we think there should be a new train crossing. And although this solution isn’t perfect, it’s better than what we had, which was nothing,” said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly.
Officials said they hope to expand this project to other crossings in the city and county. They also said they are working to compile a list of hotspots where they get the most complaints.
