SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Iowa Media Wire) — Since the westbound Gordon Drive viaduct lane was closed, Sioux City residents have had to take alternative routes, which has led to many drivers being stopped by trains.
“I would say my experience mirrors everybody else that ever comes downtown,” Dave Bernstein with State Steel Supply Company said.
State Steel Supply Company sits on Court Street, right next to a railroad crossing.
“One of our facilities, which exits directly, you know, almost directly to the railroad tracks… all of our trucks that are heading north can’t get out of that building until the trains pass twice a day,” Bernstein said.
With more than two dozen streets that cross a railroad, most people have found themselves stuck at a train for several minutes.
“It’s fair to say that I hear frustrations about trains stopped on the tracks at least once a week, maybe more,” Alex Watters with city council said.
Sioux City officials are asking residents to take a couple of minutes and fill out a report while being stuck at a railroad crossing. Those reports will be passed on to the Federal Railroad Administration.
“That is one of the ways in which they determine which rail crossings they really need to address,” Watters said. “They actually looked it up for me on the spot of how many rail crossings were reported all of last year, and I was pretty shocked to hear that only 15 blockages were ever reported in the entire calendar year.”
“I think that’s a good thing to do,” Bernstein said. “I think people think that sometimes it can get tedious and people need to do that on a regular basis, [it] ultimately does, I think, build up that history.”
If you find yourself stuck at a railroad crossing, click here to fill out a report.