“This application was subsequently withdrawn due to the department’s determination that the crossing was privately owned,” the statement from Yaksich said.●●●Railroad administration data shows there were 10 reported crashes at the Blockdale crossing from 1982 to 2021. Five crashes occurred in the past five years.



Alle-Kiski Valley railroad crossings among 'riskiest' in state, feds say


Western Pennsylvania is home to nine of the state’s 20 riskiest rail crossings, according to Federal Railroad Administration data.

Three of the crossings are within about 7 miles of each other in the Alle-Kiski Valley, between Cheswick and Brackenridge.

The Cheswick crossing, at the borough’s Blockdale Street, ranks as the second riskiest in Pennsylvania, according to the railroad administration’s Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Accident Prediction System.

Elsewhere in the A-K Valley, crossings along Brackenridge’s Morgan Street (13th riskiest) and Springdale’s Colfax Street (20th) also ranked among the state’s 20 riskiest, the database shows.

The database analyzes factors including traffic volume, historical crash data and warning devices at the crossings to predict the probability of crashes at 3,601 crossings in Pennsylvania.

Railroad administration spokesman William Wong said the database isn’t designed to rank crossings by the danger they present to people crossing them.

“It is meant to nominate crossings for further on-the-ground review by trained traffic safety engineers to determine whether further physical safety improvements or other enhancements might be needed,” Wong said.


August 2020, an Easton, Pa., man attempting to drive across the tracks was killed when he noticed a train coming and tried to back up before being struck, Allegheny County Police said at the time. The man’s estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2022, and that case is winding its way through the county’s court system.

The borough sent a letter to Norfolk Southern officials the day of the fatal crash, Aug. 20, 2020, requesting additional measures be taken to make the crossing safer.

Borough officials said at that time it was the third crash to occur at the Blockdale crossing since May 2019.

“We find this shocking record to be appalling and are certain that more accidents will occur if measures are not (taken) to make the railroad crossings in Cheswick Borough safer. Undoubtedly, Norfolk Southern shares this opinion and is equally committed to the safety of our residents and those that do business within the borough,” the August 2020 letter said.

In that letter, the borough also requested a meeting with Norfolk Southern representatives, but, “to the borough’s knowledge, there has been no action taken since the borough requested a meeting and no action taken after PennDOT applied to increase the safety of the crossing.”

The Blockdale Street intersection is outside the jurisdiction of the state’s Public Utility Commission, said agency spokesman Nils Hagen-Frederiksen.

“Any changes to private crossings would come as the result of private agreements between the railroad and the owners of the private roadways, as would decisions about responsibility for the cost of any upgrades and ongoing maintenance,” he said.

Kellen Stepler is a TribLive reporter covering the Allegheny Valley and Burrell school districts and surrounding areas. He joined the Trib in April 2023. He can be reached at kstepler@triblive.com.