Bridge across Rockland Road railroad tracks coming shortly?

Yea, maybe a bridge is a good idea – Photos/Roger Bianchini

Seemingly hidden in recent reports from Washington D.C., Richmond, and the Virginia Inland Port in Warren County is news of $15.5 million in federal and state funding that will pay for a bridge across the railroad tracks on the county’s Rockland Road, sought by the county board of supervisors for two decades.

The funding came in through the back door, so to speak, since the grants were made directly to the Inland Port to both ease increasing traffic in and out of the port as well as, according to county executive Doug Stanley, answering the problem of trains consistently blocking traffic – including emergency vehicles – in the Rockland area north of the town of Front Royal.

No timetable has yet been set by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (VDOT) but a bridge across one of the two access roads to Rockland – the busier Fairground Road crossing proved impractical – will be welcomed by area residents who have been increasingly inconvenienced by crossings blocked by Norfolk Southern trains. The local ambulance and fire services also welcomed the news. VDOT is charged with building the bridge.

“The U.S. Department of Transportation’s ‘Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development’ (BUILD) grant award for the Inland Port is great news for the port, the county, and particularly residents of the Rockland area,” Stanley commented, adding, “More and longer trains have, from time to time, played havoc with blocking both the Fairground Road and Rockland Road crossings which are located north and south of the port entrance.”

Rockland Road carries about 750 vehicles a day. Blockages have been documented to last up to an hour, at times, resulting in significant delays, safety hazards, and cost to residents, business and industry. Also affected are school buses and fire and rescue response from the nearby North Warren Fire and Rescue Department which provides primary emergency service for the area.

“The closest detour route to avoid these delays is seven miles away and takes an additional 10-12 minutes of travel time that is especially critical during an emergency call,” Stanley said, acknowledging scores of complaints from residents as train traffic has significantly increased year to year.

Due to a sharp increase in business at the Inland port, an additional amount of state funding was added to the federal grant from the state’s Rail Enhancement Fund, according to Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine.

“… we are grateful for the broad support (these) grant applications received from members of our congressional delegation, Virginia’s governor, regional development authorities, and the business community around the Virginia Inland Port,” said Virginia Inland Port CEO and Executive Director John F. Reinhart in a recent release from Governor Ralph Northam’s office.

Said Stanley, “We would like to thank the Virginia Port Authority and VDOT for working with the county to prioritize this (bridge) project and we look forward to advancing it through the design and construction phases as quickly as possible.”

The county underscored its request for a solution to the traffic problems as late as 2016.

Virginia Inland Port in Warren County is a major trucking and shipping center for national and international business and has been operating about 30 years. It is a key to industrial and business expansion in the area.

It’s still a good idea…