Up to 25 times every weekday, motorists look at blocked intersections as railroad crossing gates close, then open without a train going through the junction. Then moments later, the gates close again, and a Tri-Rail or Amtrack train goes through the crossing. The incidents snarl traffic at six busy South Florida intersections along Tri-Rail's route including Banyan Blvd., Okeechobee Blvd., Lake Worth Rd., Yamato Rd., Sample Rd., and Hollywood Blvd.
Tri-Rail says these are called preventative closes and not false activations and happen because the train stations are so close to the roads they are crossing; they need to shut down the intersection in case a train overshoots its stop.
After the train halts at the station, the train engineer can open the railroad crossing gates to relieve traffic congestion until it's time for the train to leave.