Rehabilitation of North Riley Highway growing more complicated with addition of railroad crossing project

The goal to create a more attractive gateway from the north into downtown Shelbyville will not come without hassles.

The North Riley Highway project will begin its next phase this month with the creation of islands in between the north and south bound lanes and an extension of the walking trail to Rampart Road.

Roundabouts also will be created at the entrance to the new Isabella Farms subdivision and at Michigan Road at the Knauf entrance.

On Monday at the Shelbyville Common Council meeting, Mayor Scott Furgeson talked about CSX agreeing to work on the railroad intersection on North Riley Highway just before the North Harrison Street bridge.

CSX has yet to state when the expected two-week rehabilitation project will commence or if it will close all lanes on North Riley Highway to complete the project.

“Those railroad tracks need re-done,” said Furgeson Wednesday morning at City Hall. “We got a grant to get it done but it will be done by CSX. We have no control. We are trying to coordinate when they do it. We don’t know if they are going to do northbound or southbound or north and southbound together.”

Furgeson anticipates CSX closing both directions simultaneously to get the project completed.

That would cut off a major thoroughfare into the city and force emergency services to redirect when covering the north side of the city or ambulance service attempting to get to Major Health Partners Medical Center.

“We can use the Knauf bridge,” said Furgeson, which would circumvent the railroad crossing project. “We have already reached out to (Knauf) and they are agreeable to that.”

Furgeson stated he does not want the project to start until the current school session ends on May 23 so school busses can continue their normal routes.

“We are trying to work on that and get it done but we don’t have any idea right now where we’re at,” said Furgeson.

In conjunction with the CSX project, the city will perform work on the North Harrison Street bridge.

“We are working with the county to re-deck the bridge just like we did at Lee Boulevard,” said Furgeson. “The decking on it is kind of bad. We will coordinate that work to be done when the railroad tracks are being done, so it’s not a further inconvenience.”

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