Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Bay St. Louis, Bay St. Louis, MS; Back Bay of Biloxi, Biloxi, MS; Pascagoula River, Pascagoula, MS; Three Mile Creek, Mobile, AL; Chickasaw Creek, Saraland, AL.
Key claim: The Coast Guard would let CSX open and close five railroad drawbridges in Mississippi and Alabama from a remote control center in Mobile instead of staffing operators at each bridge.
Abstract
(Proposed Rule · Homeland Security Department, Coast Guard) The Coast Guard proposes to change the operating procedures governing the five CSX Transportation drawbridges across Bay St. Louis, Bay St. Louis, MS; Back Bay of Biloxi, Biloxi, MS; Pascagoula River, Pascagoula, MS; Three Mile Creek, Mobile, AL; Chickasaw Creek, Saraland, AL. CSX has proposed to operate each of these bridges from a remote location within the CSX Seibert Railroad Yard located in Mobile, AL. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.
Why this matters
Drawbridge operating regulations determine when and how commercial and recreational vessels can transit under railroad bridges, and the Coast Guard’s shift toward authorizing remote operation reflects a broader trend of railroads consolidating bridgetender functions at centralized control centers. The change affects mariners who must signal for openings and depend on reliable response times at crossings that are also active rail lines.