Richard sent a message to Michael J. Ward – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CSX Corporation – Email Address that said:
Dear Mr. Ward;
A most unfortunate situation was barely avoided this morning only because my wife was awake at 0530. A CSX crew was preparing to commence major work on our private crossing in Milton, FL. If she had not noticed the crew we would have been trapped for two days.
QUESTION: Why were we not provided an advanced notice? This exact scenario occurred several years ago at which time the local CSX rep (since retired) promised that in the future we would receive a notification.
Not only would all three vehicles been trapped, but the situation is compounded by the fact that my elderly in-laws also access their home via the crossing. Now we have to get my 91 year old father-in-law over the tracks to a car so he can visit his 81 year old wife in ICU who is recovering from heart surgery. We COULD have made temporary arrangements to alleviate this severe inconvenience. This wasn't meant to be a sob story; I just felt that you should be made aware of the situation that we have been forced to deal with quite unexpectedly.
Now for a bit of irony. For the past year I have been researching the possibility of securing an alternate access route to my property. My dilemma is this; I will have to build a driveway through wetlands to accomplish this. Also, two weeks ago I was contacted by Mr. Steve Bolles who is a consultant hired by CSX to assist property owners in the removal of private crossings. The cost that I would incur to undertake this project (even with financial assistance from CSX) is quite substantial.
Despite the inconvenience I wish to thank you for honoring our crossing maintenance contract. However, now that my crossing will be newly refurbished I must reconsider my decision to pursue an alternate crossing.
Thank you for your time. I send this message hoping that you will forward it to the appropriate person(s) to take the necessary action to avoid this most unfortunate situation in the future.
Sincerely,
Richard
