SANTA PAULA : City Seeks Repair of Railroad Crossing

A potentially unsafe railroad crossing in Santa Paula has prompted city officials to ask a state agency to put pressure on the Southern Pacific railroad to remedy the problem.

After more than five years of requests to fix the 10th Street crossing, which gives passing motorists “a real shaking,” the city has called on the state Public Utilities Commission to intervene, Councilman Les Maland said Tuesday.

“We want them to get going and do the rail crossings right.”

Years of heavy traffic have forced the tracks into the ground, pushing the asphalt paving up over the rails. The condition could result in a traffic accident or a derailment, city officials said.

In a Sept. 5 letter, the city asked the PUC to uphold government regulations requiring Southern Pacific Transportation Co. to rebuild the crossing, Public Works Director Norman S. Wilkinson said.

Southern Pacific officials in San Francisco said Wednesday that they were aware of problems at the crossing, but could not say when they would be repaired.