BLACKSHEAR, Ga. — A neighborhood in Blackshear was shut out from the community as CSX crews closed the only road in and out for railroad repairs.

For nearly 10 hours, CSX crews worked to replace tracks and repave asphalt at the Oak Ridge Circle crossing — the only entrance and exit for the hundreds of residents who live in the Oak Ridge neighborhood.

Some residents were left stuck in their homes, while others chose to cross the tracks on foot — like Danny Ensch.

“I’m headed to Dollar General just to get a drink,” said Ensch. “Nothing really changes for the people who are willing to walk, but there are a lot of people who take off from work for this stuff.”

According to CSX, the maintenance work was necessary, as the tracks see between 10 to 20 trains a day.

“I’m lucky I retired last year so I don’t have to go a lot of places, but yeah — if I worked, this would be very inconvenient,” said Chris Rodgers.

After living in the neighborhood for 10 years, Rodgers said shutting down the only entrance and exit draws attention to a bigger issue.

“They’ve been talking for years about having another way in and out of here — and we still don’t,” he said.

According to Pierce County officials, they are considering opening a second crossing about a mile up the road at Timber Lane.

CSX sent a statement to First Coast News last week, saying:

As part of the company’s network wide infrastructure maintenance program, CSX will complete repairs and improvements to the Oak Ridge Circle grade crossing in Blackshear, Georgia on Monday, July 14. The crossing will be closed to vehicular traffic starting at 10 a.m. ET and is scheduled to reopen the same day.

Maintenance like this is critical to the safety of both train operations and roadway traffic, and to meeting the dynamic freight transportation needs of businesses across the region.

The work has been scheduled in close coordination with Pierce County in order to temporarily close the road so that crews can replace the crossties and repave the asphalt approaches to ensure a safe, smooth surface for drivers.

CSX understands that the temporary closure will be inconvenient for residents but appreciates the public’s patience as we complete this work, which is vital to ensuring the safety of motorists and a safe, reliable rail network.