MANNFORD, Okla. — An Oklahoma lawmaker is looking ahead to next legislation session to try and fix an issue Mannford drivers have been facing for years.
2 News has brought you several stories in Fall 2024 from drivers in Mannford who’ve been trapped at the Basin road train tracks.
Local News
'You just had to sit there and wait': Mannford drivers trapped by train
Speaker-elect Kyle Hilbert is now looking for solutions at the state capitol.
“You’re just at their mercy,” said Tennie Ledbetter, who lives in Mannford.
Month after month, 2 News listened to the concerns of people in Mannford centered around the railroad crossing on Basin Road.
“It’s our only way in, and it’s our only way out,” said Kelby Little. “We have no other option.”
In the past few months, drivers have been late to work, missed surgery, or unable to drop off their kids because of a train stuck on the tracks, trapping people in the basin.
“It’s bad when we’ve got a lot of elderly people that live out here and they have no way to get an ambulance in,” said Marquita Adair.
The concerns center around the railroad crossing on Basin Road.
These pictures by Robert Tabor show the issue perfectly; the train stopped on the tracks, and dozens of cars were waiting.
“You just had to sit there and wait,” said Little. “No idea whenever that train was going to move at all."
2 News brought these concerns to the city of Mannford and the BNSF railway. Now to Speaker-elect Kyle Hilbert, who represents the area.
“This year in particular, it seems like every 5-6 weeks, a train is breaking down and blocking the crossing at the railroad tracks,” said Speaker-elect Kyle Hilbert.
2 News was there in October when more than 100 people showed up to a community meeting hosted by Speaker-elect Hilbert.
Local News
'We don't want an East Palestine here': Residents demand train delays stop
On Dec. 18, he said the legislation is going to be the answer to create a new road north of the tracks from Highway 48 east into the basin, so people have another way in and out.
“Why is this legislation needed in order to get that done,” we asked.
“Well, it’s an interesting part of the state,” said Speaker-elect Hilbert.
He says the northern part of the basin is in Pawnee County. The basin itself is in Creek County and the railroad is in the city of Mannford.
“You have a situation where you have a city,” said Speaker-elect Hilbert. “You have two different counties, and it would be very easy for everybody to point at someone else and say that’s someone else’s problem, so I believe this is a great opportunity for the state of Oklahoma to step in and provide funding because really that’s what’s critical to make this work.”
He says he’s requested the legislation, and the bill is currently being drafted. Once it’s filed and the session starts in February, he’ll work to get it passed and signed into law.
“It’s an issue that absolutely has to be fixed,” said Speaker-elect Hilbert.
2 News received several questions about the 2019 Oklahoma bill that allowed cities to fine train companies for blocking intersections.
Speaker-elect Hilbert says that legislation was thrown out in federal court. Basically, the judge said states don’t have the authority to regulate the railways.
“We have two options,” said Speaker-elect Hilbert. “We can sit back and complain about the court’s decision or we can do something about it and I choose to do something about it and the way to do something about it is not just get mad at the train companies but let us work and figure out a way to find a new access point so the people that live in the basin are not trapped ever again if we can avoid it.”
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
