(The following story by Tim Doherty appeared on the Hattiesburg American website on September 18.)
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — While the Pine Belt was spared the brunt of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, some area residents may be spending more time waiting at railroad crossings.
Jones County Sheriff Alex Hodge said Wednesday that rail traffic could jump in this area as much as tenfold because of damage done to CSX tracks and its systems elsewhere.
Trains are being rerouted because of the damage.
“We got notice from emergency management authority and the Railroad Enforcement Division that there would be a heavy increase in traffic in the area,” Hodge said.
Hodge said that 21 miles of track had been damaged, increasing the flow of traffic on rail operated by Norfolk Southern.
“You’re going to see a lot more in that north-south corridor, ” Hodge said.
“There will be a lot more southbound trains coming through Jones County and Forrest County, heading into New Orleans.”
Hodge said Jones County normally averages seven to eight trains a day.
“We’re told there could be as many as 72 trains a day,” Hodge said.
“We just want people to be even more aware around those crossings when they’re driving.”