Train tracks across McMullen-Booth Road give a rough ride

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. - Work crews say part of a train track that crosses a major roadway is falling apart and could soon become dangerous for drivers.

Pinellas County Storm Water crews say the concrete panels and screws on the side of the tracks that run across McMullen-Booth Road are breaking apart. Crews have had to fix them three times in the last year and a half.

Jamie Proll with the Storm Water Division, says that makes some of the panels in the southbound lanes dip down when heavy traffic comes through.  "The dump trucks, the garbage trucks, the 18-wheelers going through had been putting a beating on the concrete panels."

That beating prompted workers to consider replacing some of those panels with different products, like rubber or gravel for a temporary fix.

Proll said, "We have to have CSX come in with a backhoe and lift the panels and replace it with the new panels. They level the pad underneath it."

White's PC Warranty and Repair sits right down the road from the tracks. Owner Charles White says the tracks feel unstable and he always slows down when he drives over them.  "Feels like everything's going to fall apart. Like the truck literally is going to fall apart when I hit it. First thing I do when I hit the tracks, both hands go on the steering wheel and I just kind of lock onto it and stare straight forward because it tries to veer."

Pinellas County Storm Water crews are scheduled to meet with CSX officials and engineers next week to talk about a more permanent solution, which they say should take two months to complete.