(WSVN) - It’s a rough ride for drivers along one South Florida road, and they say their efforts to smooth the situation are being derailed. 7’s Karen Hensel investigates.
With every bump and thump that drivers feel on this Homestead road, they also feel their anger rising.
Sonia Rodriguez, passenger: “It’s a pain.”
This railroad crossing near the intersection of 184th Ave and 296th Street has seen better days.
Juan Rodriguez, frustrated with the railroad crossing: “Well, as you can see, it’s a lot of potholes have developed, the wood is rotten, the railroad nails are exposed.”
And it’s making for a shaky and potentially dangerous ride.
Elsie Ryan, driver: “I feel like I’m going over, like, big bumps, It’s not nice.”
Our cameras captured cars and trucks trying different methods to cross the tracks.
Some took it slow, some sped up.
A few even drove into the opposite lane to avoid the gaps between railroad ties and the tracks.
Sonia Rodriguez: “It’s horrible! It jumps, and it’s horrible.”
Juan Rodriguez says he has tried to report the problem for the past two years.
Juan Rodriguez: “I want whoever is responsible to fix it.”
But he says it’s difficult to find out who is responsible.
Juan first called 311 to report the issue to Miami-Dade County.
Juan Rodriguez: “Dade County 311 referred me to CSX, to call them.”
CSX maintains nearly 3,000 miles of railroad track across Florida, but Juan says it’s clear this crossing has been neglected.
It even led one driver to come up with their own fix.
Juan Rodriguez: “She dumped a load of gravel, but it all washed out. As you can see, it’s all in this edge right here.”
He says his efforts to get the tracks repaired have hit a dead end.
Juan Rodriguez: “I know that every time I talked to CSX, they told me they weren’t responsible because the tracks have been abandoned. Take care of the problem.”
So 7 Investigates started asking questions, and we got answers.
CSX says it is “coordinating closely with the city to schedule maintenance work on 12 crossings along this rail corridor … We expect this work to take two weeks to complete.”
Juan Rodriguez: “So that’s good news, that at least somebody’s going to take care of this problem and resolve this. I’m really grateful to Channel 7 and to all of you who had cooperated in resolving this problem.”
Miami-Dade’s Department of Transportation and Public Works tells 7 Investigates that CSX has filed a request to close Southwest 296th Street beginning July 26. The request is still pending.
Karen Hensel, 7News.
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