Tulsa World
By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
Published: 11/27/20112:23 AM
Last Modified: 11/27/20114:14 AM
CLAREMORE - For decades, motorists have cursed, waited on and raced to beat the freight trains that regularly criss-cross the city.
This week, residents will discuss how to ease that railways-induced congestion.
"We all agree that there needs to be a solution," Claremore Mayor Mickey Perry said. "But we don't know whether the elevated track is the solution or not."
A public meeting on the matter is scheduled at 6 p.m. Thursday in the council chambers of city hall, 104 S. Muskogee Ave.
Oklahoma highways 20, 66 and 88 serve the city, and two railways dissect it: the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific. About 50 trains pass through the center of Claremore each day, slowing traffic flow and emergency vehicle response times.
The average delay time for vehicles stopped at the BNSF crossings is estimated at just more than three minutes (189 seconds), studies have shown.
"Basically, the railroad tracks were here first and the town was built around them," Perry said. "At the time, everybody wanted the railroads because that's what spurred the economy. Now with all the traffic and growth, they've become an inconvenience." FULL ARTICLE
Posted on
Sun, November 27, 2011
by John Cox