Update as of 3 p.m. on Feb. 28: CSX will conduct maintenance at various crossings throughout DeKalb County beginning on March 4. 

“This work has been scheduled in coordination with the local road authority,” a spokesperson for CSX said. “It will be necessary to temporarily close the roads so that crews can replace crossties and repave asphalt. Railroad infrastructure maintenance is essential to minimizing service disruptions and preventing accidents and injuries. This work can take up to five days to complete barring severe weather or any other unexpected disruptions. CSX appreciates the public’s patience as this work is completed, which is critical to ensuring the safety of motorists and a safe, reliable freight rail network.”

Update: CSX contacted Decaturish on Feb. 28 and a spokesperson said the company will send out more information about the upcoming closings later today. This story will be updated when that information is received.

The city of Tucker also released an updated closing schedule on Feb. 28. Here’s the information provided by the city: 

“Each crossing will be closed for 48-72 hours,” a spokesperson for the city said. 

Here is our previous story….

DeKalb County, GA — CSX Transportation plans several potentially disruptive railroad crossing closings in DeKalb County next month, but the company refused to provide Decaturish with any details about the project.

There is no official word from CSX about the specific dates of the closings, the times of the closings, or any detour routes. The crossing closures could affect commuters, school traffic, and emergency vehicles, depending on when CSX plans to do the work.

The current dates and times of the closures are not known, but the closures will affect at least eight different railroad crossings, most of which are in DeKalb County. It’s also not known why the crossings are being shut down. An email sent to the city of Tucker says the closures are for “crossing maintenance.” The only reason Tucker knows anything is the city had to issue permits for the work to take place inside city limits.

A sign posted at the Montreal Road crossing indicates the closure will start on March 4, but that is contradicted by the permits issued in Tucker that say the work will start on March 11. The email sent to Tucker indicates the crossings will be closed for approximately 48 hours, but again, there’s no official confirmation from CSX.

According to information sent to the city of Tucker, the following crossings will close sometime in March. Tucker has issued the permits for March 11-14, but it’s unclear if that is just for closings in Tucker or all of the planned crossing closings.

The affected crossings are on:

— Brockett Road (Tucker)

— Montreal Road (Tucker)

— Frazier Road (Tucker)

— Lenox Road (Atlanta, Fulton County)

— Howells Yard (Atlanta, Fulton County)

— Coventry Road (Decatur)

— East Lake Drive (Decatur)

— DeKalb Avenue / West Howard Avenue (Atlanta)

County officials are in the dark about this project as well. A spokesperson for DeKalb said the county has not received any information from CSX about its plans. Decatur City Manager Andrea Arnold said that CSX contacted the city in early January requesting contact information for the permitting office related to “planned maintenance.” Arnold, who was contacted by a reporter after business hours, said she would investigate the matter further on Wednesday.

CSX Transportation has flatly declined to provide any information about its plans. A CSX spokesperson told Decaturish to contact “the local road authority” for more information, which in DeKalb County could mean any number of things, including local cities, the county, and the Georgia Department of Transportation. The spokesperson said CSX would not be sending out any press releases about the closures, and she would not provide any information about the project over the phone. CSX officials did not respond to numerous emails seeking comment.

In an attempt to prompt CSX to release more information to the public, Decaturish contacted Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, as well as Reps. Hank Johnson and Nikema Williams. Staffers for their offices said they would look into the issue.

This story will be updated when more information is received.

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