Durham County is studying the Plum Street, Driver Street and Ellis Road rail crossings, where federal records show 18 train crashes and five deaths since 2001. A kickoff webinar is Thursday.
Durham County has started a $1.5 million study of three street-level railroad crossings in East Durham. The crossings are South Plum Street, South Driver Street and Ellis Road.
Federal Railroad Administration records show 18 crashes involving trains at the three crossings since 2001. Those crashes injured 12 people and killed five.
The county will introduce the study at a free online webinar from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, on Zoom. That is the first chance for the public to hear what is being looked at and how to have a say. The details are in the county’s announcement of the kickoff webinar.
What the study covers
The study looks at a one-mile stretch of the rail corridor between Angier Avenue and Pettigrew Street. All three crossings are at grade, which means the road crosses the tracks at street level. That is according to the county’s East Durham Rail Crossings Study page.
The county lists the options it may consider:
- a bridge or an underpass to separate the road from the tracks
- closing a crossing
- new road connections
- other safety upgrades
The study will end with a preferred option. It does not pay for any construction. The county said it expects to work with state and federal partners to find money to build whatever is chosen. In North Carolina, rail crossing projects are usually led by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
The crash record
The county’s study page breaks the record down by crossing. Its table combines the federal railroad figures with the City of Durham’s Vision Zero dashboard, which reports another 10 crashes at or near the crossings. That gives 28 crashes in all.
| Crossing | Crashes | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Plum Street | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| South Driver Street | 12 | 2 | 8 |
| Ellis Road | 10 | 3 | 5 |
The county also said blocked crossings can delay emergency vehicles and cut neighborhoods off from each other while trains pass.
Who pays, and how long it takes
The Federal Railroad Administration awarded the county $1,220,000 in June 2023 from its Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program. The county adds a 20% local match of $305,000 from the Durham County Transit Plan. The total cost of the study is $1,525,000.
The county’s timeline:
- June 2023: federal grant awarded
- January 2025: grant agreement signed
- October 2026: preliminary purpose and need statement approved
- Nov. 12, 2026: kickoff webinar
- early 2027: briefing for officials and partners, then a public meeting
- 2027 and 2028: options studied and shown to the public
- mid-2029: study complete
The tracks are mostly run by Norfolk Southern. The main east-west line is owned by the North Carolina Railroad Company, the county said.
Why these three crossings
These crossings have been flagged before. The county’s page lists earlier studies that pointed at them:
- the 2014 NCDOT traffic separation study of every at-grade crossing in Durham
- the City of Durham’s 2017 Bike+Walk plan, which called for safer walking and biking across the tracks at South Driver Street
- the city’s 2020 Move Durham study, which rated the three among the worst crossings in its area
What it means for you
If you drive, walk, bike or ride a bus across these tracks, this study will shape what they could look like. A crossing could be closed or replaced with a bridge or underpass, which would change how you get through East Durham.
- Watch the kickoff: 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, on Zoom. Use the county’s webinar registration form. Live Spanish interpretation will be available.
- Catch up later: the county said it will post a recording in English and Spanish on the study page.
- Have your say in person: a public meeting is planned for early 2027. The county said every option will go out for public comment across three rounds of engagement.
- Questions: the county’s release names Caroline Lamb, Durham County transportation planner, as the contact.
For other closures and detours around town, see our Durham road construction and closures page and our guide to getting around Durham.
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