Crossing closed at bad time

A railroad crossing on K-15 at Durham was closed for work Saturday and Sunday during Durham’s Fall Festival. The festival Saturday included trail rides, a craft fair, games, children’s activities, and a meal.

Closure of the crossing on the south side of Durham posed fewer problems for local residents than for potential visitors from elsewhere.

Former county commissioner David Mueller said an official detour — north to K-4, east through Herington, south on US-56/77, then west along US-56 — would have taken travelers many extra miles to reach Durham.

“For locals, we know the roads to get around there,” Mueller said.

Mueller said 330th Rd., a mile north of Durham, was the closest paved road going east and west to the north of Durham, so people could take 330th instead of K-4.

South of Durham, the closest paved road is US-56, so there was no shortcut from the detour except gravel or dirt roads.

The railroad is replacing rails, Mueller said.