As early as today, officials expected to fix malfunctioning lights that slowed traffic at Flin Flon’s busiest rail crossing.
Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) first observed problems with the crossing lights on Third Avenue near Gas Bar around Nov. 18, at which time stop signs were erected.
The stop signs were down by late November once the lights were fixed but resurfaced last week after HBR said the problems continued.
Merv Tweed, president of Omnitrax Canada, which owns HBR, said the company expected to have the lights operational and the stop signs down by today or tomorrow.
Tweed said Monday the company was still waiting for a part to repair the lights.
Though a truck hit one of the stop signs over the weekend, Tweed said this would not impact how long the repairs would take.
Mayor Cal Huntley said last week the stop signs were “very unreasonable” given that only two trains a week come to Flin Flon and “a major traffic pattern” must be interrupted around the clock.
But Tweed said his understanding is that federal law requires stop signs be put up at crossings when lights are not working properly.
If a municipality would prefer a different method, Tweed said it would likely have to direct its request to Transport Canada.
