Rail crossings to close for repair work

Railroad crossings in Columbia County's two cities will be temporarily closed while crews conduct repairs.

The railroad crossing on North Louisville Street (U.S. Highway 221) in downtown Harlem will be closed Monday to repair a broken rail, according to a Georgia Department of Transportation news release.

"The rail is not actually broken," said Meg Scheu, a spokeswoman for CSX Transportation. "We run (weekly) track inspections, and we ran an ultrasound on the rail. The rail was found to have a minor defect."

CSX Transportation lowered train speeds through the intersection until the repair could be made. It will only take a day to repair, Scheu said.

Scheu said she expects crews to begin repair work on the two crossings in Grovetown - at Katherine Street and East Robinson Avenue - on Feb. 13. The maintenance repairs will include replacing the rails and ties and resurfacing each crossing.

Scheu said the work in Grovetown is expected to take about four weeks, but CSX Transportation is working with Georgia DOT to make sure motorists are inconvenienced as little as possible.