Those who live or work in Polk County are no stranger to trains. Rails run parallel to its busiest highway and through towns. Most everyone has waited a few minutes at crossings to get where they need to go.
It’s been more difficult for those living on Glover Road in Leggett the past three decades, where minutes become hours. Also known as Old Highway 35 North, Glover Road dead ends and the only crossing to reach anywhere else can be blocked by a train that stops on the tracks.
Four years ago, trains could regularly stop for up to three hours, though there have been accounts of even longer. It caused many issues, the worst of which was reported by the Enterprise four years ago.
Monica Franklin woke up to find her infant son unresponsive. Franklin, a nurse, performed CPR on her son for an hour after calling 911.
The reason? Emergency units were blocked by the train.
Franklin had a feeling the train would eventually be a life-and-death issue. Unfortunately, she was correct.
“I told my husband about a week ago that someone is going to have an emergency out here and (emergency responders) are not going to be able to get to them,” Franklin said in an interview from October of 2021. “Sure enough, it was my son that had the emergency. It is a terrible thing, and seconds and minutes mean the most when you are not breathing. I needed them.”
Paramedics ran with Franklin out to the tracks just as the train began to start, delaying help longer. Finally at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, baby K’Twon was on life support for two days. Tests showed his brain did not make it through the trauma, said to be without oxygen for too long, and life support was removed.
Countless complaints to Union Pacific have come from residents, emergency responders, the county judge, county commissioners and the local school superintendent. All had a similar sentiment that the pleas were disregarded.
The requests go back as far as 1992 in a letter penned by W.T. “Pete” Glover. The man for which the road is named was concerned then of three-hour delays and how it was “very unreasonable, when there is no other outlet.”
Leggett ISD Superintendent Jana Lowe said the three-hour delays are now a thing of the past, but inconveniences still exist. The train continues to stop occasionally, but not for the length of time it once did.
Yet, concern has not faded. There have been multiple house fires in older homes. Many senior citizens live in the area, including a mobile home park for those aged 55 and over.
Polk County has taken action to find an outlet. They have moved forward with eminent domain on two properties to connect Glover Road to FM 942. Work cannot begin until the cases have been settled. The 258th District Judge Travis Kitchens has appointed a review board for one tract of land, while the other is awaiting appointees by 411th District Judge John Wells.
The Enterprise will have updates on the issue as details develop.
