Repairs for Rockland County rail crossing back on track

Sen. Chuck Schumer says the CEO of CSX told him that they plan to add new panels and resurface the area crossing the Railroad Avenue tracks in West Haverstraw before the end of the year.

Diane Caruso and Lee Danuff

Mar 14, 2023, 9:53 PM

Updated 574 days ago

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Repairs for a rail crossing in Rockland County are back on track to be completed. 
Sen. Chuck Schumer says the CEO of CSX told him that they plan to add new panels and resurface the area crossing the Railroad Avenue tracks in West Haverstraw before the end of the year. 
West Haverstraw Mayor Robert D'Amelio showed News 12 the problems he has been asking the transportation company to fix for more than five years.
"It seems like it's getting there...But they used the word refurbished when they sent us the letter, which we're not happy about. We want to know what that entails. Now we got a letter that they're going to replace the panels. I hope the panels mean they're going to rip up these tracks completely and put these rubberized panels that I see in other places throughout the county," he says. 
D'Amelio has received numerous complaints from residents who have gotten flat tires. There were also three firefighters hurt a few years ago on their way to an emergency call because the bumps knocked them out of their seats. 
"Our EMTs, our firemen are going over these tracks even slower than they need to. And that can be the difference between life or death and getting to a call on this side of the tracks," says D'Amelio. 
About a mile south is where a train crashed into a tractor-trailer that was stuck on the tracks last month. 
Village of Haverstraw officials say there is nothing new to report regarding that area. 
Schumer has urged CSX to address that New Main Street/9W crossing and other problematic areas throughout the Hudson Valley.  

CSX released a statement saying in part, "CSX works hard to address crossing concerns in a timely manner and repairs must be scheduled in close coordination with the City and local roadway authorities in order to temporarily close roads to vehicular traffic."