EDGERTON — Worried residents in the village of Edgerton say they are sickened by vandals who have disabled a railway crossing twice in the past week, the Edmonton Sun reported.
Wainwright RCMP say wires have been deliberately cut to stop the gate arms and lights working at the junction of highways 894 and 610.
Residents say they fear the vandals could strike again and cause a deadly accident.
“No one really knows about this, and we have a lot of traffic going through the crossing,” said resident Marilyn Moran who lives across the street from the junction. “Whoever has done this is pretty sick. In a little town of about 400 people it’s just unbelievable.”
Const. Lorne Morrison of Wainwright RCMP said he was concerned that if the vandals strike again, people will assume the lights are working and forget to look for a passing train.
“People are so used to the arms that if they don’t see them, they’re not going to stop,” he said.
“The fact they’ve done it not once but twice is a great concern for us.”
Morrison said no previous incidents of vandalism have been reported at the crossing.
But he said Edgerton has had several major accidents at railway crossings in recent years.
“Last July there was a truck hit at a crossing which resulted in a fatality. Whoever is doing this is someone who doesn’t have a concern for the safety of others.”
Edgerton is 240 km southeast of Edmonton.