The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has established a new, dedicated webpage allowing the public and law enforcement agencies to report blocked highway-rail grade crossings, according to Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) officials.
Blocked crossings occur when stopped trains impede the flow of motor vehicle or pedestrian traffic at railroad tracks for extended periods of time.
Communities have long dealt with the issue of blocked crossings, and the FRA is now seeking broad public input to understand the scope of the problem and engage with affected parties to identify potential solutions.
The new FRA Blocked Crossing website requests specific information from users that includes the date, time, location and duration of the incident. Information collected on the website is only being used to track the location and impacts of blocked crossings.
The FRA’s purpose of collecting this information is to learn where, when, for how long, and what impacts result from blocked highway-rail grade crossings. The FRA will share this information with stakeholders including railroads, state and local governments, and other federal authorities, using it to help facilitate local solutions to blocked crossing issues.
Visit the FRA website at www.fra.dot.gov/blockedcrossings to report a blocked crossing in your area.
