MANNFORD, Okla. — “This past Saturday, that train was sitting there over 4 hours,” said Kelby Little.
19-year-old Kelby Little was in traffic for more than half of that time. She reached out to 2 News with her concerns this weekend and we listened.
Day in and day out, cars cross Basin Road unless a train stalls their plans.
“You just had to sit there and wait,” said Little. “No idea whenever that train was going to move at all.”
She shared these photos of the backup with 2 News, showing dozens of cars stalled as the train sat on the tracks for about 4 hours.
“All I could think about is I’m late, and all the people that are stuck on this side they’ve got somewhere to be,” said Little. “They’ve got somewhere to go.”
Little timed it, saying she left her home nearby at 6:15 a.m. but didn’t cross the tracks until 8:45 a.m.
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You can email her at Naomi.Keitt@kjrh.com.
“I had to tell my boss I’m stuck behind a train,” said Little. “I don’t know when it’s going to move, and I had to send her pictures just so it’s believable that this train was literally stuck there for 4 hours.”
Little isn’t just concerned about getting to work late. She’s also concerned about the safety of her neighbors.
When she finally crossed on Saturday, she saw an ambulance with lights and sirens flashing.
“My stomach sank,” said Little. “There’s no telling what it could’ve been. If that was like my grandparents or something they could’ve been sitting there waiting on that ambulance for hours. It’s crazy.”
Little is one of dozens of people with the same concerns, trains stuck on the tracks for hours trapping drivers.
WATCH: 2 News first told you about the issue on Sept. 3 when the train stopped for about an hour.
We brought you a similar issue in nearby Terlton on Sept. 27.
In response to the issues, Speaker Pro Tem Kyle Hilbert is meeting with the community on Oct. 3 at 12 p.m. to talk about the efforts to bring relief to drivers.
The city manager said he’ll have an update on potential grants that could provide a permanent fix.
A permanent fix is what neighbors like Little desperately want to see.
“It’s our only way in and it’s our only way out,” said Little. “We have no other option."
A 2019 Oklahoma bill allowed cities to fine train companies for blocking intersections.
However, a 2022 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision upheld a ruling by a federal judge that overturned that Oklahoma bill.
The federal judge ruled that states have no power to regulate railways.
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