Biloxi railway expected to close Nixon Street crossing

Just about two blocks away from where a March 2017 tragedy happened on a Biloxi railway when a train collided with a Texas tour bus, you’ll now find the beginning of a long awaited change.

The City of Biloxi is now following through with their agreement with CSX to close three of 28 crossings, starting with Nixon Street.

Just this morning, Vincent Creel with the City of Biloxi says a semi-truck was stuck at the top of that railway.

Creel says the biggest thing they wanted to avoid was creating any dead-end roads and it’s a vital change in making sure another tragedy doesn’t happen. “If we were just closing a crossing, there’s a chance we could cause a dead-end road. So, what we did was built an alternate route right along the railway. Today’s incident at the Nixon Street crossing shows how this problem isn’t going away. So, we have to take steps to minimize the chance for an accident to occur. One way you minimize that chance is to reduce the number of crossings.”

Creel says he believes this is a step in the right direction, but there still needs to be some personal responsibility to be safe when drivers approach these crossings.