But those railroads - the ones that put Morrisville on the map - are starting to get in the way of those who have made this a bedroom community.

The state Department of Transportation plans to close three rail crossings along N.C. 54 in and near Morrisville during the next few years.

The crossing at Barbee Road and N.C. 54 is due to close on March 24 as part of a deal with the N.C. Railroad Co. and rail company Norfolk Southern.

About the same time, the state will temporarily close Morrisville Parkway at N.C. 54 to build a grade-separated crossing near Crabtree Crossing Parkway. Morrisville Parkway could reopen to traffic by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the state also plans to shut the crossing at N.C. 54 and Church Street in Durham County to realign the railroad tracks to smooth out a curve.

The DOT also plans to extend Church Street north to Hopson Road in Durham and build a bridge for the railroad tracks over Hopson Road. Construction is expected to begin in January 2011 and wrap up in late 2012.

The closures are expected to limit traffic through the town, routes that connect western Wake to Raleigh-Durham International and RTP, one of the region's biggest employment centers.

"East-west traffic will be hampered severely," said Councilwoman Margaret Broadwell.

That could create more congestion on major thoroughfares including McCrimmon Parkway and Morrisville-Carpenter Road.

A public hearing on the rail closures is scheduled during a town council meeting on Tuesday.

The Barbee contract

To solve one of Morrisville's most daunting traffic problems - congestion along Morrisville Carpenter Road - Morrisville officials struck what now appears to be a potentially troublesome deal.

The town wanted to extend a much-needed right-turn lane across the railroad tracks at the intersection of Morrisville-Carpenter Road and N.C. 54.

To do it, the state Department of Transportation, the North Carolina Railroad Company and Norfolk Southern told the town it would need to close two lanes across the tracks at another intersection, in part to reduce the risk of train-car collisions.

Town officials agreed in April 2008 to shut down Barbee Road.

Problem solved.

Or so they thought.

By fixing one longstanding traffic nightmare, officials unwittingly contributed to another one.

And this time, there might not be such an easy fix.

Turns out, Broadwell says, Barbee Road is a frequently used shortcut to RTP and the airport.

"There's continual traffic using that crossing right now," she said. "It would be a huge impairment to close it at this point without another alternative."

Broadwell said the state had addressed the closure of the same intersection once before in 1996, during her tenure as mayor.

She said the state had developed a series of safety programs aimed at improving safety along a future high-speed rail line.

One of those programs involved the closure of a number of rail crossings including Barbee Road.

Broadwell and former Councilman Mark Silversmith lobbied the state to keep the Barbee crossing open.

More than a decade later, a different cast of council members agreed to close the crossing.

But by then, the NCDOT had plans to close the rail crossing at the intersection of N.C. 54 and Church Street, beyond Morrisville's border in Durham County.

The Durham deal

The state plans to build a bridge for the railroad over Hopson Road in Durham and connect Church Street to Hopson.

Blake Mills, Morrisville's public works director, said that will restrict access to an important southbound entrance into town and a northbound exit onto N.C. 54.

He said that could lead to increased traffic on Hopson Road in Durham and McCrimmon Parkway in Morrisville as drivers find alternative north-south routes.

"It's going to affect traffic in a major way," Mills said.

Further complicating matters, the state also plans to temporarily close the crossing at Morrisville Parkway and N.C. 54 this year to build a grade-separated railroad crossing near Morrisville Parkway and Crabtree Crossing Parkway.

That project and the bridge on Hopson Road in Durham are being funded in part by the $545 million federal rail service grant awarded to North Carolina in January.

"This ultimately makes things much better because there will be no more stopping for the train and no more safety concerns, in that respect," Morrisville Mayor Jackie Holcombe said.

"The issue is that those take a while to build and [the state has] to close the crossing in the meantime."

'Dealt a short hand'

Holcombe fears that the combination of closures could have broader-reaching effects, including impacting response times for emergency personnel.

But the agreement signed in 2008 may prohibit compromise.

Morrisville "was dealt a short hand by [the state DOT] not disclosing the Church Street closure when we agreed to this deal," John Whitson, Morrisville's town manager, said at a recent council meeting.

Had Morrisville officials known, they might have lobbied the state to extend the timeline for the closure of Barbee Road to sync up with the state's plan to shut down Church Street and N.C. 54 in Durham, town officials said.

Spokesmen for the N.C. Railroad and N.C. Department of Transportation's rail division did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The Church Street crossing is due to close once the bridge over Hopson is finished in a few years.

But Morrisville must shut down Barbee Road now.

The town's agreement with the NCDOT required that Barbee Road close within 180 days of the opening of an upgraded Morrisville-Carpenter Road.

That project was finished late last summer.

Hoping for compromise

The Barbee Road crossing likely will close on March 24, the day after an expected town council vote on the issue - a vote that is widely considered a formality.

Broadwell hopes state officials will be willing to flex on the timing.

But other council members say the town will likely have to uphold its end of the deal.

"I'm not in favor of this," said Mayor pro tem Pete Martin. "But based on our prior agreements, we're obligated to follow through with these agreements."

Holcombe said the town council needs to develop a Plan B.

She suggested investing in new infrastructure - a new road, perhaps, or another grade-separated crossing - to counter some of the effects of the rail closings.