(The Latimer Press published the following story by Shane Scara on its website on August 14.)
LATIMER, Miss. — The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) and CSX Railroad want to know if Latimer is receptive to tracks coming through town.
A meeting tonight at the Latimer Community Center on Daisy Vestry Road, hosted by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT), will seek citizens’ opinions of a proposal to run railroad tracks north of Interstate 10 and possibly into the Latimer, Vancleave and Larue areas.
Wayne Brown, the regional transportation commissioner, was invited by the Latimer Civic Association to give citizens more information on the issues involved in the plan.
MDOT has been organizing town meetings through DMJM Harris — a consulting firm that is trying to determine where the new tracks will pass — with communities in the proposed areas to decide a possible relocation route for the railroad. The firm is preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) clarifying how the railroad will disrupt human habitats and nature.
There are five proposed routes, including plan A to follow Interstate 10 and Plans C-1 through D-2 which push toward the northern reaches of Jackson County.
The train tracks currently pass through Ocean Springs, Biloxi, and Gulfport — heavily populated areas. If proposal B-1 is approved, rural areas like Latimer, Vancleave and Larue will have an alternate route for trains.
Some of the reasons MDOT gives for the move are possible vehicle collisions, the threat of chemical spills and traffic problems.
According to James Wilkinson with DMJM Harris, CSX is hoping for a 1,000-foot corridor along the length of the tracks so the railroad will have right of way north and south of the lane. They desire 160 feet of right of way.
One hundred feet will be used for freight lines and the other 60 would be for future plans on a high-speed passenger train. But plans for a passenger line are far into the future. Most of the traffic on the proposed rail will be large freight trains that will pass through without stopping.
Wilkinson said he realizes there are problems with alternate route B. The route was chosen to skirt the Desoto National Forest and the Mississippi Sandhill Crane refuge. Old maps, however, did not reveal the properties that the tracks might pass through.
“We don’t need people to come and tell us there’s a problem,” Wilkinson said. “We know there’s a problem. We need people to tell us how we can fix it.”
Sissy Jordan, a lifelong resident of Latimer, is strongly opposed to the train coming through her community. She sent out petitions in the area to raise awareness on the issue.
“We are opposed to moving the railroad and disrupting the lives of residents of Latimer, Larue and Vancleave,” Jordan said. “Some families’ property deeds go back to the Spanish Land Grants.”
Wilkinson said he has received a lot of calls from people who have discovered the tracks pass through their property.
“There’s no intention to ram this through Latimer or any other community,” Wilkinson said. “We don’t want to proceed with plans that are fatally flawed.”
Sandra Alawine, another resident of Latimer, said she doesn’t want the train because the infrastructure could not handle chemical spills. She believes trucks delivering to and from the rail will add wear to the roads. She is also concerned that the move will add to her taxes.
“I like to listen to the crickets, bullfrogs and nature,” Alawine said. “It wouldn’t be peaceful outside and it probably wouldn’t be peaceful inside.”
Wilkinson said the EIS survey will be complete within the next three to four years. Once the EIS is finished, Wilkinson estimates another six to seven years to complete the railroad.