Faulty Pittsfield Railroad Crossing Source of Confusion
 Flashing railroad lights at a long unused crossing at Merrill Road had motorists confused last night. |
The long-silent signal, on the bridge that serves as the East Street mouth of Merrill Road, once coordinated traffic at a former rail access point for General Electric. On Sunday, the ordinarily unused apparatus began flashing its red lights and clanging loudly late into the night, resulting in traffic confusion and consternation for nearby neighbors.
Short periodic resulted traffic jams as some drivers paused for long stretches of time waiting for the flashing red lights to stop before deciding finally to continue.
A representative of CSX Railroad indicated their records showed the crossing signal to be handled by Housatonic Railroad, but following initial incident reports, Housatonic phone operators received an update that the crossing signal was not part of their operations either, referring callers to local law enforcement.
Pittsfield Police dispatch told iBerkshires the department had made attempts to address the issue, but had encountered the same uncertainty about who controlled the malfunctioning signal. It was believed the equipment might be the property of General Electric, but attempts to contact the company about the issue had not been successful as of early Monday morning.
Tags: rail crossing, railroad,
