Townsend Town Council members continued a discussion about repairs that are needed to the railroad crossing on Main Street near the post office at their Sept. 1 meeting.
Residents raised concerns at last month’s meeting about safety hazards the tracks impose to drivers and pedestrians because of the large holes and bumps that have developed due to the tracks’ deterioration.
Rep. Quinn Johnson said Wednesday that after several conversations with officials from the Delaware Department of Transportation and the railroad company, he received clarification on why the issue has been delayed.
“Delaware has hundreds of railroad crossings throughout the state. Like anything, they put a criteria to it and look at the speed of the road and what traffic’s going to be doing traveling over it,” he said. “Unfortunately, there were other crossings that had higher speeds and worse condition and were higher on the [repair] list.”
Johnson said funding for the railroad repairs has been allotted by the State and is included in the budget for the Main Street repaving project.
He said the street paving and the repairs to the railroad will occur once the Town’s proposed streetscape project is complete.
Town Engineer Tom Wilkes said the streetscape project, which will include new sidewalks, street lamps and trees along Main Street, is still under review by DelDOT.
“It’s been a long and tedious path but we have been diligent and finally have some light at the end of the tunnel,” Johnson said. “When it is all done, we’ll have a nice finished project at the end.”
Fire department
Keith Shoemaker, a liaison from the Townsend Volunteer Fire Department, said within the next two weeks, the department hopes to begin construction on the new portion of the firehouse, which will replace the area of the Main Street building that collapsed under the weight of snow Feb. 12.
He said the department has been told by contractors that construction could take up to six months.
The council unanimously approved to waive all Town permit fees that the fire company would incur through the construction.
Councilman John Ness said he supported the motion because
“I think it’s a good idea because it’s showing in a small way that we back all the things the fire company does for the Town,” he said.
Shoemaker said the department will hold their annual activity day Saturday, Aug. 11, beginning at 9 a.m. at Townsend Park to raise funds for the fire company.
“We’ll have vendors there and helicopter rides, so it should be fun for the kids,” he said.
