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Crumbling Street near Railroad Needs Repairs

CRESSONA — Leaders in Cressona plan to meet with the railroad next week to see what can be done about part of a road that is falling apart. The borough ow...
railroad

CRESSONA -- Leaders in Cressona plan to meet with the railroad next week to see what can be done about part of a road that is falling apart.

The borough owns the road but will have to go onto railroad property to fix it.

People who live on Railroad Street in Cressona say the road has always had its issues, but recently part of the road started to fall apart and they want something done before the whole thing collapses.

Railroad Street in Cressona is just that: a street next to a railroad. Trains go through a couple times a day.

But it seems as though that street is starting to disappear. After a rough winter, part of the road started to crack and fall down an embankment.

But recently, the pavement did more than just crack. It collapsed and fell, leaving no curb and no basin.

"I like to do a lot of my driving at night. You can't see something like that," said Cressona resident Jequan Fairell.

Courtney Marrow has lived on Railroad Street all her life and remembers avoiding the tricky spot even as a kid.

"We'd fly down the hill and you always just had to stay to the other side because you didn't want to fall in there. It's been pretty serious."

Cressona borough owns Railroad Street, but Reading, Blue Mountain, and Northern Railroad owns the land that the pavement is falling onto.

In order to fix the street, crews will need permission to go onto railroad property.

Some people say it needs to be fixed before it collapses completely.

"A lot of residents run back here, they walk, they walk their dogs and people driving back here. You don't want there to be an accident for it to open up people's eyes," Fairell said.

People who live on Railroad Street say this has been an issue for a long time. When it started to get bad, the borough painted a white line. Then, it got worse so it put up signs and cones. Now that the road is collapsing, residents say something else needs to be done.

"I think the borough and the railroad should come together and fix it. That way there are no complications."

Cressona borough officials tell Newswatch 16 they do plan to meet with the railroad on Monday. The group will try to figure out how to fix the road and keep the trains running.

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