Monday is "Back-to-School" for most children in North Texas, which means new teachers, new classes and, for some, new ways to get to school.
For one Fort Worth neighborhood, a decades-long route is now closed off in an effort to improve railroad safety.
For the last 18 months, work on the Tower 55 improvements have been in full swing. But only now are residents in part of the Rock Island neighborhood near downtown seeing the impacts.
This week East Peach Street between Samuels Avenue and Harding Street was shut down to pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
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Long time residents told NBC 5 that kids have walked that way to nearby Nash Elementary School for decades. Starting on Monday, they'll have to walk a bit further.
While Peach Street is closed, a new underpass has opened up a few blocks away along Gounah Street.
Several residents expressed disappointment in the closure of Peach Street. One woman said she now feels "trapped" in the neighborhood. One man said he wasn't aware the closure was permanent, but it is. At the same time another mother said it "wasn't a big deal" because of the new alternate route.
The closure has been planned for years. Fort Worth-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway says safety is the main reason why.
“The specific Peach Street location in your question is managed by BNSF Railway and will be closed permanently," Joe Faust, Director of Public Affairs for BNSF Railway, said in a statement. "After consulting with the leaders of Nash Elementary School, members of the community, the City of Fort Worth, and emergency responders it was determined the new route via the underpass at Gounah Road provides a safe and protected passage for the students, as well as for the residents of the community.”
Residents who used Peach Street won't be the only ones to see changes with the Tower 55 improvements near Rock Island.
Drivers heading into downtown on Belknap Street or out of downtown on Weatherford Street will see new traffic signals at North Hampton Street. The city says the traffic lights will be up and running by Monday morning. The lights are to give residents a safer way in and out of their neighborhood.
Safety is one of the many components why $103 million is being spent improving Tower 55. Another key reason is train mobility, as new tracks and closed off tracks mean trains will be able to get through one of the nation's busiest train interchanges quicker.
East First Street will also be closed over the tracks in the coming weeks. All the Tower 55 improvements are set to be finished this fall.
One part of the Rock Island neighborhood that is still waiting for change to the tracks it must cross over is at Peach Street and North Live Oak Street.
In February, NBC 5 documented the problems the neighborhood has experienced for years, with trains stopping on the crossing and blocking in residents. Our cameras witnessed children crawling under and over train cars, which is illegal and dangerous.
While Tower 55 work should help with congestion along those Union Pacific tracks, the ultimate solution is extending Live Oak south, so residents don't have to cross any tracks. That project is still in development.
