Blackfoot is looking for solution to trains blocking roads

Blocked rail crossing for long periods of time are a concern for the city of Blackfoot.

The worry is firefighters and other emergency responders may not make it to a call in time. It’s something the city officials want to fix, but the one solution they really like has hit a road block.

The initial plan they decided on ended up costing way more than planned.
The idea was to install an alert system to let first responders know where trains are blocking the road so they could take a different route.

In addition, there would also be signs to let others on the road know about the road blocks.

This idea hasn’t been ruled out. The City Council is looking at some other options.

“A variation of that, which would be less expensive, just do the safety portion of it. In other words, forego the signage and the direction, figure that would be about a third of the cost. A third option a would be to put a satellite station on the east side of the city,” said Mayor Paul Loomis.

That third option would be the most expensive.

The opposing side says this alert system isn’t needed. They say there is no proof someone has died because first responders didn’t make it to a call because a road was blocked.