Harrisburg officials plan to fight rail project

Harrisburg Town Council members are planning to fight the development of the high-speed rail coming through their community after hearing more than 50 people lodge complaints about the train project during a workshop Saturday morning.

The workshop was meant focus on the council planning its goals for 2012 and making a game plan for the rest of the year. But once residents learned Budd D. Berro, Piedmont Regional Director for the State of North Carolina, would be attending the workshop to discuss the project with the council, the railroad’s opposition came out.

Harrisburg is part of a broader rail modernization program, funded with $545 million in federal recovery funds being spent to boost the economy. Officials said the funding will go toward the railroad project to create plenty of construction work and other jobs. The project must be completed by 2017 to qualify for the funding, with the state footing the bill until it is reimbursed on the federal level.

But residents claim the project will close down roads and increase traffic which will extend emergency services response times. Also, the project will be going through the old part of Stallings Road, forcing homes to be razed.

Residents also said the project will essentially cut Harrisburg in half, since residents won’t want to fight traffic and won’t want to cross over a bridge to cross to the other side of town.

Harrisburg officials were already aware of residents’ concerns, but after so much opposition was raised on a Saturday morning they resolved to work even harder to protect the town from the project.

“It’s ironic, the rail comes and Harrisburg is born,” town council member Phil Cowherd said. “And now this high speed rail is coming and it may kill it.”

Cowherd proposed budgeting $50,000 to be used to try and protect Harrisburg from what he feels are the project’s negative impacts on the town. That money could go toward publicity; hiring an attorney; or consultants to work with the N.C. Department of Transportation to show the project’s flaws and how it could affect traffic.

“It is a go-for-the-throat approach, no question about it,” Cowherd said. “Make Harrisburg whole.”

Josh Watkins, planning director for Harrisburg, said the town has worked with traffic consultants before to get some changes made in the high-speed rail proposal, after consultants proved the need for the changes to the N.C. DOT.

“We may need to get that extra level of expertise from the consultant … because that might be $10,000 well spent,” Watkins said. He added the consultants may also be aware of funding issues the N.C. DOT could pursue to pay for changes.

Berro said changes proposed by N.C. DOT will make roads safer in Harrisburg, since new bridges will eliminate ground-level crossing points. Traffic will go over the bridge and eliminate the dangers of drivers trying to drive around the crossing guards and risk getting hit by a train.

He also said he will work with officials to make sure the two separate divisions of N.C. DOT, including the railroad side and the highway side, are linked to make sure both sides are aware of Harrisburg’s concerns about the impact on local traffic. Berro said he can work with officials to also get the town’s own data to the right people, regarding safety issues, emergency response times and economic impact.

The N.C. DOT did a careful study of Harrisburg before moving forward on plans to develop the high-speed rail project, Berro said.

“This is really a balancing act,” Berro said. “But we want to try and do the best we can to make this right for every community. Some of these solutions are not easy, especially when they involve cost and design complications. But the goal is to make things work better to have a positive impact in terms of economic activity and jobs.”

Officials plan to start purchasing property as early as March for the right-of-way requirements needed for the project. By March 2013 contractors will be moving dirt and going forward with the actual construction, officials said.

No decision was made on budgeting the $50,000 to combat the N.C. DOT’s railroad project, but it will be on the agenda for discussion at the Feb. 13 meeting.

“We’re going to make as much noise as possible,” Cowherd said. “And the squeaky wheel gets the oil.”

CLOSED CROSSINGS:

There are six ground level crossings in Harrisburg that will be closed: Millbrook Road, Caldwell Road, Robinson Church Road, Hickory Ridge Road, Shamrock Road and Pharr Mill Road.

The Pharr Mill Road interchange will be relocated with a bridge built to line up the road. Caldwell Road will be provided a bridge overpass and Hickory Ridge Road will be closed and replaced with a Roberta Road extension.

Contact Michael Knox at mknox@independenttribune.com or 704-789-9133.