FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

At this time the plan would be to block off Westport Ferry Road at the railroad right-of-way which would result in a dead-end road, thus reducing traffic and putting off any additional work for several years other than any intersection work at the highway that may be required by ODOT.

Old Mill Town Road is planned to be constructed in a similar fashion to the proposed new road, but will not need to have all the infrastructure replaced as the heavy traffic would utilize the new road. 

All the property to the west of the Douma property are wetlands.  Wetland mitigation on a large scale as would be required to move the road west of the Douma property is too costly and mitigation sites are not available in our area.

We asked the railroad this same question hoping to at least be able to maintain emergency access.  Their response was no due to past experiences.  The railroad requires the road's hard surface within their right-of-way to be removed.  Once removed, even occasional traffic creates a mudhole.  The rail safety board has fined others in the past for not maintaining these emergency crossings, so they are no longer allowed.

The proposed new road would be a County road for all to use.  Teevin Bros. is under no obligation to construct a new road to access their barging operations as they pay road taxes just like all other users of our road system.

The existing plan calls for two 12-foot wide traffic lanes and one 6-foot wide multiuse path.

The existing road being used for heavy hauling to the Teevin Bros., barging operation was not designed to carry the number of anticipated heavy loads.  The County cannot safely reconstruct Westport Ferry Road to continue to accommodate truck traffic safely due to right-of-way constraints and the proximity of Plympton Creek.  In order to reconstruct Westport Ferry Road and have a measure of safety, the road would end up being a one-way road with a curb on the west side of the road and a sidewalk on the east side.  This would then require traffic from the ferry landing/Teevins barging operations to use Old Mill Town to access Hwy. 30. 

Old Mill Town would have to be reconstructed and realigned to allow for truck traffic.  Reconstructing Old Mill Town would also require significant alteration of the Hwy. 30 intersection as well as reconstructing sewer and water lines.  Any alteration of either Westport Ferry Road or Old Mill Town Road requires improvement of the associated rail crossing(s).

In December 2018, the County held a community meeting at the union hall on Old Mill Town Road.  In that meeting the County proposed two options; 1) Reconstruct Westport Ferry Road with two 12-foot wide lanes, or 2) Reconstruct Old Mill Town Road with two 12-foot wide lanes and a 6-foot multiuse path.  The sentiment at the meeting was neither option was what the community wanted.  The community wanted a new road constructed to remove the heavy truck traffic out of the residential community for safety and livability.  The County believes it has found a potential way to do so and is currently engaged with the two property owners attempting to acquire the property to fulfill the community’s request.

The railroad, Genesee & Wyoming has a policy that for every new crossing that is opened two must be closed.  Since there are only two in the community, they require one to be closed so that there is a secondary road into the community.

The rail crossing mentioned is a private crossing and the County has no authority to close it.  Furthermore, since the railroad's policy is to close two crossings for every new one, they could require that to be closed as well as the proposed closure of the Westport Ferry Road crossing.

The County will not be bonding this project, it will be built using existing County Road District funds that are collected at a permanent levy rate of 1.0175/$1,000 of assessed values, as well as any State or Federal funds that may be received.

ODOT is favorable to the proposal of a crosswalk. We are working with them to look into the process.