RIPLEY, NY — Residents on Klondike Road in Ripley say they are bracing for days without access to their homes after being notified that maintenance work on the nearby railroad would close their dead-end road.
According to a notice left on residents' doors, Safety Services Supplies says the closure is necessary to perform maintenance on the road surface around the tracks. Similar work is currently being done on the neighboring Cemetery Road; however, that road is not a dead end.
A company representative told residents the project carries a window of 4 to 5 days, but is expected to take only 1 to 2 days to complete.
"(They) Can't do that on a dead-end road where people have no other access," Stephen Mooney said. "We have to get across those tracks in order to get out, and there is no other access."
Mooney, who has lived on Klondike Road since birth and recently turned 70, says the railroad has been a source of frustration for as long as he can remember. He says trains have blocked the crossing for up to 4 hours at a time in the past, costing him jobs over the years.
"There's 2 of us on this road that are over 70 years old, and we've had problems in the past," Mooney said. "We had a helicopter that had to land in a field down here because the train was blocking the crossing, and we had somebody down there that had a heart attack."
Mooney also noted that in previous maintenance situations, crews placed a steel plate across the tracks so residents could still cross on one side, although he does not believe that accommodation is planned this time.
This is a story we have been following for years.
In May 2023, we spoke to Clinton Diller, who said he chose to move from one side of the track to the other to avoid being blocked in.
"We found a property on this side of the track that became available and I said, 'You know what I'm tired of it,'" Diller said in May 2023.
In February 2024, we brought residents' concerns to County Executive PJ Wendel and Congressman Nick Langworthy. Wendel and Langworthy said they were working to address the issue and would stay on top of it.
"But it's something that we ultimately should have better corporate citizenship out of Norfolk Southern. Very, very disappointed in the way they've handled this," Langworthy said in February 2024.
Then, in April 2025, we checked back in with Bobbie White, who was frustrated with the lack of progress.
“So much has happened over the last two years. I mean, we've just gotten nowhere,” White said in April 2025. “It’s like we hit a wall every place we go.”
We spoke with White again on Thursday, and she explained that she had recently received a knock on her door to tell her about the upcoming closure.
"Well, one day I got a knock at the door, and this guy stops by, and he said that he's with the railroad and they were going to be blocking off our road from June 29th until after the 4th of July," White said.
White said the representative told her there would be no access during that period and offered little in the way of alternatives.
"I said, I've got neighbors here that need to get out and go to work, and if you don't go to work, you lose your job," White said. "I've got people on this road that are elderly, that need to get out, need to come in, and he said there's gonna be no access. There's nothing that he can do. The railroad was first, and they'll do whatever they want."
WATCH: Residents on Klondike Road in Ripley fear being trapped as railroad plans days-long closure for repairs
"My biggest concern is for the people on my road, that they're not going to be able to get in and out to go get their groceries, and you're going to be blocked in here and not be able to get out," White said. "Why should we be imprisoned in our own homes?"
White said she worries about neighbors who may not be able to afford to stay elsewhere during the closure and those who depend on regular access for medical needs or employment.
