‘We have a problem’

The Cedar Avenue railroad crossing has been rated among the most perilous in New Jersey for years. Spurred on by a local resident, local officials appear poised to push for safety improvements at that location.

The crossing is problematic as a pair of rail lines run closely parallel to each other, with little room between them. Nearby, traffic signals create the possibility that motorists can get stopped on or between the tracks.

The Cedar Avenue crossing will be the topic of a Middlesex Borough Council workshop discussion on Oct. 8, according to Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk.

Mikolajczyk noted the upcoming Cedar Avenue discussion during the council’s Sept. 10 session. At the prior meeting on Aug. 27, Fairview Avenue resident Kevin Redzinski urged the governing body to press the state for safety improvements at the crossing.

“We do see things going on there,” Mikolajczyk said of the crossing. “It’s still rated up at one of the top ten in the area or in the state. I think it only behooves us to be ahead of the curve rather than waiting for another problem to happen.”

The mayor said the borough intends to contact the state, Conrail, Amtrak or any other entity with jurisdiction over the crossing. “What are their next steps toward making it safe?” Mikolajczyk asked.

“I think we have a problem,” he continued. “There were repairs. We’re still ranked. Is that the end or are they going to do more? We have to have our ducks in a row before we start asking questions.”

In a little more than a month in early 2020, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were three accidents at the Cedar Avenue crossing.

On Jan. 3, 2020, two women were killed when a NJ Transit train hit their car directly while it was on the tracks. In that instance, an NJ Transit spokeswoman said their car went around a “no crossing” gate while it was down.

A 17-year-old Middlesex teen was struck and killed by a train on Jan. 22, 2020 while walking on the tracks at Cedar Avenue.

On Feb. 11, 2020, a train struck the back of a truck, tearing open its cargo area. The rear of the truck was over the tracks when it was hit. No one was injured.

That rapid-fire series of accidents were only the latest at the Cedar Avenue crossing in recent years.

In January 2011, a tractor trailer driver was killed after his trailer was hit by a freight train at the Cedar Ave. rail crossing. Another tractor-trailer was struck in 2006, but no one was injured in that incident.

After the series of 2020 accidents, various officials met at the crossing in February of that year to review the safety issues there. On Feb. 27, 2020, then-Mayor John Madden posted an update on the borough website. He said a consensus was reached to work on the crossing’s paving and adjust the timing of nearby traffic lights. “Long term, it was agreed that the site warrants having a bridge,” Madden wrote.

This past May, the existing crossing was removed and replaced with a new concrete crossing, as well as new asphalt approaches to improve safety.

At last month’s council meeting, Redzinski questioned why the borough was not pushing for further improvements at the crossing. He later forwarded to the mayor and council a series of email communications he’s had in recent years with various government agencies.

Following the last fatal accident at the crossing in 2020, Redzinski said he contacted the Federal Railroad Administration. A federal official acknowledged the agency is aware of the safety issues there. The problem, the official told Redzinski, was caused by a past realignment of the two sets of tracks, which brought them closer together.

Redzinkski said he asked the official why action is underway to address a problem crossing in Bound Brook, but not Middlesex. Redzinski noted that the Mountain Avenue crossing near the Lincoln Statue is also problematic.

“We’re hearing from Bound Brook. We’re not hearing from Middlesex,” the official told Redzinski.

Redzinski said the feds have undertaken complicated projects to address safety issues at other locations throughout the country.

“No one’s paying attention to what’s going on at these tracks,” Redzinski said of Cedar Avenue. “There’s going to be another death on these tracks.”

“It’s the responsibility of the rail lines,” he continued. “They’re coming through our town. We don’t just have to take what they give us.”

“A lot could be done there,” Redzinski said. “But it’s going to take someone, who represents the borough, to stand up and start making the calls.”

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