FOSTORIA, Ohio — The Iron Triangle neighborhood in Fostoria is notorious for trains blocking access to the entire neighborhood, but the city has secured funding to address that problem.
The neighborhood off of Columbus Avenue and South Town Street in Fostoria is known as the Iron Triangle. To get in and out of the area, motorists have to cross one of three rail crossings.
That can lead to situations like the one that occurred in 2011 where a combination of work on two crossings and a stopped train completely cut off access to this neighborhood, which is problematic in emergencies.
"It can be [sporadic] on a daily basis, it really can from hour-to-hour," Fostoria Fire Chief Jason Root said. "Sometimes we run a couple calls a day in there, sometimes it's maybe once a week."
The city will be combining funding with partners at the Ohio Rail Commission, CSX, and Norfolk Southern with a recent $7 million grant from the Federal Department of Transportation.
In total, $14 million are now available for Fostoria to finally build an overpass at the Town Street crossing. This will hopefully eliminate any situation where people can't get out or first responders can't get in.
"I can remember in the past where we've actually been trapped out by trains," Root said. "And you know, when the structure fire is going on you feel a little helpless, so this should alleviate that problem."
An overpass at the Iron Triangle has been on the city administration's mind for nearly 25 years.
Mayor Eric Keckler is thrilled to have finally put the pieces together to get this overdue project moving.
"Had a lot of family and some friends live down in the Iron Triangle," he said. "So, from that aspect and just knowing that we've come to a solution to make this happen is pretty exciting stuff."
Keckler says it could take up to four years to get the overpass completed. But he is hopeful that the city of Fostoria can host their first public information meeting on this construction project by the end of the year.
"[It'll be] a conversation here in town on just what the bridge will look like," Keckler said. "And it'll be in public meetings so we can get that input from folks in Fostoria about what they think it should look like and then the design phase starts."
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