Communication breakdown: Who dropped the ball on CSX’s mass road closures in Wilmington?

WILMINGTON — Yesterday’s announcement that CSX would close not a few, but nearly 30 rail-crossings in Wilmington left public officials and residents alike confused and frustrated. CSX’s contractor claims it gave nearly three weeks notice, so why was the city caught off guard?

Related: CSX closing nearly 30 Wilmington rail-crossing intersections, contractor delays could keep them closed indefinitely

Further, CSX contractor Southern Commercial Development said that a breakdown at a subcontractor’s asphalt plant meant there was no timetable for how long it would take to get the rail-crossing intersections open again — information that was apparently news to both Wilmington city and police staff.

So, what happened to the information about the closings — and whose job was it to make sure it got to the authorities and the public?

CSX

CSX is tearing out and replacing 27 rail-crossing intersections, effective closing nearly 30 roads. The company’s contractor for the job, Southern Commercial Development, says it first notified Wilmington on Jan. 3.

Spokeswoman Angela Nelis said she spoke with Dennis Rachocki, an engineer for the city of Wilmington.

“He [said he] would notify the local police, fire, and media,” Nelis said.

Nelis said she sent Rachocki a spreadsheet of closings and dates that day, and a list of detours based on the city’s street grid on Jan. 9.

City of Wilmington

Rachocki confirmed that he had received the information about the closings. He said the information was passed along through “standard internal communications.”

When asked who would be included in these communications, Rachocki said he would have to call back later. He did not.

Wilmington spokeswoman Malissa Talbert said the city has received some information that was incomplete and “had no idea what was going on.”

Talbert said it was CSX’s responsibility to notify the public, not the city’s.

“Notices to the public of work that significantly impacts traffic/roads within the city are generally handled by the agency doing the work (i.e., NCDOT, CFPUA, etc.) and the city will augment that by sharing information through our communication channels,” Talbert said, noting that in this case “the agency is CSX.”

Talbert added, “I don’t know all the particulars of this case (who sent what to whom or when) and the situation was exacerbated by city offices being closed yesterday, but CSX was working on the improvements. I can say that the city shares information from other agencies that impact local roads and we will continue to do so to the extent possible.”

The City of Wilmington posted notice of several individual closings on social media, starting on Thursday, Jan. 17, last week, but did not mention the scale – or duration – of these closures.

Wilmington Police Department

Apparently, neither the Wilmington Police Department (WPD) or Wilmington Fire Department were notified by the City of Wilmington about the closures.

The information about the full scale of the CSX closures, released by WPD on Tuesday afternoon, apparently came from the New Hanover County 911 Center.

According to a WPD spokesperson, WPD was forwarded an email from the 911 center last week, but the email ended up in a spam folder.

Apparently, even the information received by New Hanover County was received in a roundabout way.

According to Kate Murphy, communications coordinator for the county, “we learned that emails were sent to a former 911 employee, who no longer works for the county. Eventually, road closure updates were sent to a current 911 employee, who shared information with law enforcement and emergency personnel as ‘street updates.'”

Murphy said the county has reached out to CSX to make sure they update their contacts.

TRAFFIC ALERT – Drivers should avoid the 500 block of N. 23rd St. CSX is replacing a section of the railroad tracks. The roadway should be open later this evening.

— Wilmington Police (@WilmingtonPD) January 17, 2019

According to Linda Rawley, the WPD spokeswoman, she received correspondence directly from CSX on Thursday, Jan. 17, noting on a few of the total closures.

Closings

Here is a map and list of the CSX closings, although minor changes in construction dates may occur, according to WPD and CSX.

Send comments and tips to Benjamin Schachtman at Ben@Localvoicemedia.com, @pcdben on Twitter, and (910) 538-2001.