GAINESVILLE, Va. — What a mess for commuters on Wednesday night. An SUV that was sitting at a railroad crossing on U.S. 29 in Gainesville was hit by a train about 7 p.m.
The train damaged the front of the SUV but the female driver inside was not injured, according to a Prince William police official on the scene.
Police closed a portion of U.S. 29 from Va. 55 at the Virginia Gateway Shopping to Heathcoate Boulevard. Virginia State Police also blocked exit ramps from Interstate 66 to prevent traffic exiting the highway from entering southbound U.S. 29 at the scene of the crash.
Needless to say traffic was snarled in Gainesville as police conducted their investigation.
About 8:30 p.m., railroad officials allowed the train to move. That ultimately allowed them to clear the SUV from the scene and to get traffic flowing again.
This is the third vehicle vs. train collision at this intersection in about a year. Highway improvements underway in this area will see the construction of an overpass that will carry drivers above the railway to prevent these types of at-grade collisions. With improvements already made to the I-66 / U.S. 29 interchange nearby, the overall $97 million improvement project should be complete in 2015.
U.S. 29 is expected to carry 57,000 vehicles per day through Gainesville by 2035, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
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