TAMPA, Fla. — Frustrated drivers in Tampa say they are being railroaded by railroad repairs. They're taking place at several crossings near downtown – all at the same time.
The result has been gridlock along some of the city’s busiest roads.
“No heads up, no nothing,” Keith Staggers said. He decided to park his car and walk the rest of the way to his job Tuesday rather than sit in traffic.
“Extremely frustrating,” he said. “I have to park my car three blocks away and then walk 10 or 15 blocks to work.”
The city of Tampa says the railway is supposed to let them know ahead of time it they plan to do maintenance, giving them a chance to set up detour signs and redirect traffic.
But this time, the city say a CSX subcontractor failed to update City Hall on their maintenance plan – and just did it.
“And we did the best we can to alleviate the congestion,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said. “But when you have so many east-west roads closed down. It’s difficult. You don’t have many options for rerouting traffic.”
The repair projects are expected to take anywhere between two and five days to finish. Some busy intersections, like Bay to Bay and MacDill Avenue, have already been re-opened to traffic. Others, like Cleveland and Platt Streets, at Willow Avenue are still barricaded and torn up.
The city says it’s at least had a chance now to put up more signs and change some traffic light timing.
Mayor Castor says she also got an “I’m sorry” from the railway.
“Yes, very apologetic,” Castor said.
“I spoke to the vice President of CSX and, of course, they contract out the work, but still, they took ultimate responsibility for it.”
Even with a chance to put up warning and detour signs, there’s still been a ton of traffic, hot tempers and clearly some lingering confusion as drivers go right past the signs and then have to turn around.
A Tampa City Council member later confirmed eight city employees had in fact received emails about the project on January 28 – and then again on February 3rd. But, they weren't the employees who were supposed to receive such a message and ultimately failed to take action.
Mayor Castor has asked commuters to be patient for a few days, “And it’ll be better in the future,” she said. “There’s no doubt.”
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