Fence Going up Where Two Grand Island People Killed by Trains

By: Steve Ross Email

Updated: Fri 7:16 AM, Sep 21, 2012

A 41 year-old Grand Island man is the latest to be hit by a train within city limits, this time near the railroad crossing at North Broadwell Avenue.

"We were unable to, I guess, pinpoint exactly where the impact happened, however we have a rough estimate of where it was. It was approximately 50 to 60 feet east of the intersection," said Grand Island Police Department Patrol Officer Daron Lindgreen.

That location is within sight of where Grand Island teenager Cody Christensen was struck and killed by a train in June.

"It is an ongoing problem, and the Grand Island Police Department has been addressing that in conjunction with the Union Pacific police department. The fence that Union Pacific is going to be constructing through the Grand Island downtown area will alleviate a great deal of that," explained Grand Island City Attorney Bob Sivick.

The broad, open area between Lincoln Avenue and Garfield Street would be fenced in the second and third phases of project. According to Union Pacific fencing project presentation materials, however, no exact date for completion of the second and third phase fencing has been announced.

The fence would likely discourage trespassers and potential victims. Still, even with extensive fencing, city officials say tracks could be accessed at railroad crossings.

"The city can't fence off intersections. We have to have vehicle traffic. So, in that type of situation we can't stop people from crossing the tracks at the streets," Sivick said.

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