BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com
A federal evaluation that only 15 rail crossings of 112 along the EJ&E line will be "substantially affected" when Canadian National Railway trains rumble along those tracks misses the mark, according to local officials.
"The Surface Transportation Board, they basically have given the railroad a break," said Bob Volkmann, Schererville town manager. "We feel like we are getting the short end of the stick."
In Schererville, the Kennedy Avenue EJ&E crossing would be affected dramatically, and town officials will continue to press for railroad funding of an overpass there, Volkmann said.
The Surface Transportation Board on Friday released a voluminous draft environmental impact statement examining the safety and environmental impacts of Canadian National's proposed purchase of the EJ&E Railway.
The EJ&E runs 198 miles from Waukegan, Ill., to Gary, with its tracks running through suburban Chicago and Northwest Indiana. Under Canadian National's plan, its trains that now go into Chicago would be rerouted onto the EJ&E.
Most local officials contacted said they had read through the 54-page executive summary of the draft environmental impact statement, which runs thousands of pages.
Canadian National released a statement Friday saying it remained committed to continuing to work with communities along the EJ&E route "to come to agreement on appropriate mitigation measures."
The draft environmental impact statement devoted considerable space to the town of Griffith, which local officials long have argued will suffer the brunt of increased rail traffic on the EJ&E.
Three out of five "substantially affected" rail crossings identified in the draft statement are in Griffith. Total vehicle traffic delays per day at seven crossings in Griffith would increase tenfold, according to the draft statement.
"You see it all in the Chicago news they talk about Joliet and Barrington and how much they would be affected by this," said Rick Ryfa, Griffith council president. "But Griffith would be extremely hard hit, as hard hit as any around Chicago."
Two of three rail crossings in the 198-mile arc of the EJ&E that would become "high accident frequency areas" under the CN plan are located in Griffith, according to the draft statement.
The Surface Transportation Board proposed that the Lake Street and Miller Avenue crossings in Griffith undergo a special review and that CN should fund a corridor study in Griffith.
Ryfa said nearby schools also are a concern because children cross the EJ&E tracks on their way to school.
"I don't see how any CN official could sleep at night if anyone was killed at one of those crossings," Ryfa said.
For the city of Gary, a prime concern is making sure police and fire agencies can make speedy responses to residential areas west of the EJ&E tracks, said Joel Rodriguez, special assistant to the mayor for economic development.
City officials have met with the railroad and are talking about ways to tie their emergency communications directly to Canadian National's communications hub.
For Dyer, the draft environmental impact statement appears to largely neglect serious concerns the town brought to the attention of federal officials, Town Manager Joe Neeb said.
That comes on top of meetings with Canadian National officials where the railroad has given no promises that anything will be done to resolve potential problems, Neeb said.
In Lynwood, the U.S. 30 rail crossing is one of the 15 crossings that would be "substantially affected" by the rerouting of CN traffic to the EJ&E tracks, according to the draft statement.
The Surface Transportation Board is proposing measures for those crossings that range from flashing signals to the building of highway overpasses.
That has Lynwood village President Gene Williams thinking federal officials were listening to his comments and those of public safety officials when they drafted the report.
He said the railroad should contribute to the building of any overpass. Other funds would be sought from the state and federal governments.
"We certainly don't want to appear obstructionist," Williams said. "Let's just recognize what our needs are and get a plan of attack in place for getting it done."