Railroad crossings to close for maintenance in Richmond, Marlboro, Chesterfield counties

HAMLET — Four railroad crossings in Richmond County will be temporarily closed later this month as part of a CSX maintenance project.

The three-week project, slated to start March 23, will include the installation of railroad ties, and will affect Richmond County, as well as Chesterfield and Marlboro counties in South Carolina.

According to Angela Nelis, chief operations officer and railroad divisional manager for Southern Commercial Development, each crossing is expected to be closed for two to five days, depending on the type of maintenance.

The first two local crossings, on Freeman Mill and Airport roads —both just west of Gin Mill Road—  are scheduled to close on March 23 and 24, respectively.

The next crossing, a private road between N.C. 177 and the Duke Energy Smith Energy Complex, is scheduled to close March 25; followed by the Osborne Road crossing near the intersection with Holmes Road on March 26.

The South Carolina crossings are as follows:

• March 27 - Pleasant Hill Road, just east of intersection with S.C. 177; Hatcher Hill Road, west of Englewood Drive
• March 29 - stop-and go flagging operation on S.C. 177 between Pleasant Hill and Ebenezer roads
• March 30 - Step Road, west of intersection with S.C. 177
• April 6 - Community Road, east of intersection of U.S. 1 and S.C. 9 (near gas stations in Wallace); Huger Street, between Bryant and Agerton streets
• April 8 - E. Market Street (behind Springhill Suites in Cheraw)
• April 9 - Liberty Street pedestrian and bike path, between Chestnut and Front streets); Front Street, near Church Street
• April 10 - Second Street, between Church and Maynard streets

"Please keep in mind the estimated closure time frames are merely the best approximation we can provide at this time,” Nelis said. “These dates are highly subject to change with or without notice simply due to many of the unforeseen circumstances that can occur in the field once the work begins.”