MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WGNS News) - Motorists traveling near South Church Street and Middle Tennessee Boulevard over the weekend on Sunday afternoon and into the evening hours may have noticed a Murfreesboro Police patrol car blocking traffic near the busy railroad crossing. According to Murfreesboro Public Safety Information Director Larry Flowers, the closure was tied to a CSX railroad crossing malfunction.

The issue temporarily prevented drivers on Middle Tennessee Boulevard from crossing through the S. Church intersection and then over the tracks on the section of roadway between South Church Street and Southeast Broad Street, forcing vehicles to detour around one of the city’s more heavily traveled routes. Flowers stated, "MPD officers assisted with directing traffic until CSX workers arrived to repair."

This was not the first time in recent weeks that Murfreesboro Police officers have assisted with traffic control at the same crossing. In June, officers blocked traffic during a planned CSX railroad repair closure on June 17 and 18. During that closure, Middle Tennessee Boulevard was shut down to through traffic for approximately 24 hours while CSX crews completed work at the crossing near Church Street.

At the time, motorists traveling on Middle Tennessee Boulevard and S. Church St., were advised to detour around the intersection and take alternate routes to avoid the rail crossing. 

The crossing is more than just a minor side-road inconvenience. A traffic count from roughly four years ago showed an average of 19,727 vehicles per day traveling on Middle Tennessee Boulevard within about 100 feet of the railroad crossing between South Church Street and Southeast Broad Street. When accounting for estimated growth between 2022 and 2026, that number would likely place today’s traffic volume at slightly more than 21,000 vehicles per day.

Another section of Middle Tennessee Boulevard, between New Salem Highway and South Church Street, showed 17,916 vehicles per day in the same earlier count. With continued growth in Murfreesboro, that figure would now likely be closer to more than 19,000 vehicles daily.

Those numbers help explain why even a short-term closure can quickly create frustration for drivers, especially along a corridor that connects residential areas, commercial traffic, downtown access, and routes toward Broad Street and Church Street.

While motorists may not welcome another detour — especially with the cost of fuel making every extra mile feel a little more expensive — railroad crossing problems are not simply traffic headaches. A malfunctioning crossing can create serious safety concerns for drivers, pedestrians, emergency responders, and train crews.

In this case, the presence of Murfreesboro Police helped keep vehicles from entering a potentially unsafe crossing area while the issue was being addressed. For drivers, an extra mile or two around a closure may be inconvenient, but it is a small price compared to the danger of an improperly functioning railroad crossing.