Railroad Relief An Sta Bus Driver, Along With Thousands Of Other Motorists, Will Be Delighted For The Opportunity To Drive Underneath Railroad Trains

By his own estimation, Earl Gurney has spent a month of his life waiting for trains.

The 60-year-old Spokane Transit Authority bus driver has had the East Trent route for the past 14 years. Ten times each shift, five days a week, Gurney has steered his bus through the Argonne Road rail crossing.

Perhaps better than anyone, Gurney knows the frustration of waiting for a train.

“Fighting those trains has been his life,” said passenger Sharon Clark-Burlend.

Gurney has watched with interest the past 16 months as workers built dug out an underpass beneath the railroad tracks. Now as work on the $10 million project nears completion, Gurney stirs with anticipation.

“Looks like they will have it open by Monday,” he said.

The ceremonial first car is scheduled to drive through the underpass at 10 a.m. Monday. It should open to the public about an hour later.

That will be none too soon for Gurney.

“It should have been here 10 years ago at least,” he said.

One day last week, as Gurney’s white, blue and green RTS II GMC bus rumbled along Trent near the Yardley train yard, Gurney kept an eye out for passengers - and trains.

“Got one getting ready to go out and one coming in,” Gurney said.

It was 3:47 p.m. Wednesday. Gurney was making his second run of the day.

“Oh, there’s (another) one coming in,” Gurney said as a triangle of headlights appeared in the distance. “I’d like to know how many trains they have in and out of here a day. I’ve heard rumors of 80 or 90.”

Actually, as many as 60 trains are estimated to use the crossing per day.

The bus is still about 15 minutes from reaching Argonne, but 35,000 trips through the railroad crossing have taught Gurney that chances are good that a passing train will stop the bus.

“They can get you anytime,” he said. “You never know.”

Gurney once waited 56 minutes for five trains to clear the tracks. It was rush hour, and traffic was gridlocked around the tracks.

“When the (first) train got through there, the gates wouldn’t come up,” Gurney said. “We were stranded there. I was way back in traffic. They had to send another driver to fill the rest of my route.”

But once in a while, Gurney said he has gotten lucky. Just last week an engineer misjudged the length of the train and stopped across the tracks, Gurney said. Crews decided to separate the railroad cars at the crossing so traffic could flow while the train waited to get into the yard.

“You don’t see that very often,” Gurney said. “I’ve seen it about twice or three times.”

Even after the underpass opens, Gurney’s route will not be completely train-free. Union Pacific railroad maintains four active crossings along Gurney’s route.

“Once in a while I’ll probably still catch a train,” he said. However, those trains typically are shorter and much less frequent.

Work on the underpass also has occasionally delayed Gurney’s route. Last week, traffic backed up while a crew was pouring concrete for the south-side approach.

“That held me up about 10 minutes,” Gurney said. “But I didn’t mind that too much. That’s progress.”

In fact, none of the stoppages have fazed Gurney. Despite repeated opportunities to chose another route, Gurney has opted to continue shuttling passengers along Trent between the Valley and downtown Spokane. The variety in scenery and friendly faces have kept him coming back.

“It’s a little country driving, a little city driving,” Gurney said while cruising down a Millwood street lined with trees beginning to show their fall colors. “I kind of like the people out here too.”

Like their driver, Gurney’s passengers have learned to be patient with the trains.

“I got stuck 45 minutes there one day,” said Joe Peery. “One right after another.”

Peery has ridden Gurney’s bus periodically the past four years on his way home from work at a tool and die shop on Montgomery.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Peery said of the new Argonne underpass.

Ironically, Gurney will not be working Monday when the underpass opens. But that won’t keep him away.

“I’ll be on vacation next week, but I’ll probably come out here with my pickup and drive through it a time or two,” Gurney said. “Don’t want to miss opening day.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 6 Color Photos; Graphic: Long-awaited underpass to open