Maple Ridge British Columbia - A CP railway crossing that was the site of a fatal accident in April has been closed to traffic by Transport Canada (TC).
 
A series of concrete blocks have been placed across the road on the south side of Lougheed Highway, at 272nd Street, blocking access to vehicles.
 
The road winds south over the tracks, and follows the Fraser River to two businesses, A&H Steel Vancouver and AdvanTec Industrial.
 
During a regular inspection on 21 Jun 2022 the federal agency said that a TC Pacific region rail safety inspector identified immediate safety concerns, citing hazardous conditions.
 
It was in response to these conditions that CP closed the crossing to all vehicles, and according to TC, the crossing will remain closed until the safety concerns are resolved.
 
Neither TC nor CP addressed specifics about the safety concerns.
 
In April the crossing was the scene of a fatal crash that killed Darcy Mulder, an employee at A&H Steel, as she was heading home from work at the end of the day to make dinner for her three children.
 
Mulder was in her SUV on Thursday, 21 Apr 2022, and was at the train crossing when, just after 17:30 a semi-trailer truck, that was turning off Lougheed Highway and going south over the tracks, was struck by an eastbound train.
 
The impact caused the flatbed to spin, hitting Mulder’s vehicle, rolling it, and then pinning it.
 
Jaws of life were used to get Mulder out of the vehicle, but despite life-saving efforts by first responders, she could not be saved.
 
When asked by The News on 27 Jun 2022 why the blocks went up, or if it was part of CP’s investigation into the deadly crash, CP responded that the crossing at 272nd Street was closed last week in consultation with the City of Maple Ridge, the BC Ministry of Transportation, TC, and other stakeholders.
 
Matthys van Emmenis, vice president of operations at A&H Steel, said they were advised last week by CP that the crossing would be closed.
 
"In doing so, this has meant we no longer have access to our site, have had to cease operations, and at this time, temporarily lay off 26 valued employees. The safety of our employees and those accessing our site is paramount and we are in discussions with CP, who owns and controls the rail crossing, on how we may all safely re-open the crossing. In turn, we hope to be able to restart our business as quickly as possible and re-hire our team, especially given this time of economic uncertainty, and what is already an extremely pressured construction industry," van Emmenis elaborated.
 
TC oversee and monitor all grade crossings of federal railways across the country under the Railway Safety Act, the Grade Crossings Regulations, and that all crossings must comply with TC safety standards.
 
Gene Law, a spokesperson for the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said that any questions about the railroad crossing should be directed to CP and TC.
 
Fred Armstrong, a spokesperson for the City of Maple Ridge, said CP informed the city that the closure was happening due to an order from TC and that the matter was outside the city's jurisdiction.
 
Colleen Flanagan.