Phelps County road department, BNSF Railway workers and MoDOT closed a railroad crossing in Rosati on Sept. 29 as a handful of residents from the community conducted a sit-in demonstration at the worksite to protest the closure.

Rosati residents JW Copeland, Caroline Copeland and Barb Marcus gathered at the worksite as work crews from BNSF and Phelps County road department were already underway.

As crews worked on removing asphalt at the crossing, the Copelands and Marcus protested by sitting on a set of concrete pillars, blocking access to the materials that was marked to be used to close the crossing, but had not been installed yet.

When a county road department employee asked the demonstrators to remove themselves from BNSF property, they refused to do so. The employee then contacted the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department to intervene and have the demonstrators removed.

Corporal Isaiah Wills responded shortly after and began negotiating with demonstrators. After repeatedly being asked to move away from BNSF property and refusing to do so, JW Copeland was briefly detained by Wills and released approximately half an hour later after stating that he would not interfere with the work of BNSF and county crews.

“We’re very frustrated and our ability to have a civil protest is something that’s protected,” said JW Copeland.

Residents said they feel that the Phelps County Commission hasn’t listened to the community throughout the years-long process of closing the railroad crossing.

Caroline Copeland said, “It feels like again we just weren’t heard and that money and power trumps communication and common sense. This impacts our daily lives.”

Marcus said that county commissioners didn’t do enough to keep the community in the loop.

“It would have been different had they had public meetings and heard us. Have a public meeting like you said you were going to do. Let us have some communication with you and not just do whatever you want,” Marcus said.

Records from a Dec. 11, 2025, Phelps County Commission meeting noted that once a proposal on the closure was received from MoDOT, “A public meeting would be held in Rosati to put it to a vote of the people.”

A public hearing on the issue was held at a March 5 county commission meeting in Rolla, after commissioners had already agreed to enter a contract with MoDOT and BNSF Railways to close the crossing in February. Neither a public hearing nor vote was ever held in Rosati.

The railroad crossing, which sits at the intersection of State Highway KK and County Road 3640 was one of two remaining railroad crossings in the community and connects the community’s main thoroughfare, County Road 3640, also called Cardetti Road, with Highway KK.

The official closure of the crossing is the latest development in a lengthy conflict between Rosati residents and the Phelps County Commission.

With the railroad crossing closed, Cardetti Road is effectively a dead-end road. The closure also cuts off the St. Anthony Catholic Church, which is on Cardetti Road, from its cemetery on Highway KK.

Joseph Zulpo, who attends St. Anthony Church, said that closing the crossing will make it more difficult for parishioners to access the church.

“We have some elderly parishioners who live down Highway KK. Now they’ll have to go all the way up and around a couple of miles. That’s going to be a problem for them to get to church,” said Zulpo, who added that funeral processions will also have to be rerouted along Route 66, then onto Highway KK in order to reach the cemetery, which was previously accessible via the railroad crossing.

Some residents wanted to see the crossing remain open, citing its daily use by community members. Residents have also said that closing the crossing will lengthen commute times for workers, school buses and response times for emergency services.

“What if somebody dials 911? How much longer is it going to take for them to go all the way around and back to get you to safety?” asked Amanda Flegel, a Rosati resident. “The fire department. How long? Every minute counts when it comes to that.”

According to records from an Aug. 15, 2023, Phelps County Commission meeting, a MoDOT vehicle counter installed at the crossing measured an average of 265 crossings daily.

Other Rosati residents said they feel that the Phelps County Commission has sold out their community in exchange for money promised by BNSF and MoDOT.

“There’s not enough money here in Rosati to make up the difference for what they’re getting paid out, and there’s not enough votes here to make up for what they’re more than willing to do,” JW Copeland said. “The fact that we’re paying them almost $50,000 (in yearly salaries) to meet for a couple of hours two days a week is really remarkable to not represent us and sell us out.”

Under the agreement the Phelps County Commission entered into with BNSF Railways and MoDOT, both entities will pay the county commission a combined $500,000 “closing incentive” to be used to pay for the crossing closure.

According to County Commissioner Sherry Stites, anything leftover will go to the Phelps County Road Department for infrastructure improvements in Phelps County.

Official records from the March 5, 2026, Phelps County Commission meeting indicate that MoDOT suggested that the County Commission place the closing incentive funds with the Road Department, but that “the check is going to the county so they can decide where to deposit it.”

“Probably what it’s going to be used for is infrastructure because our infrastructure is pretty poor,” Stites said, adding that bridges and roads across the county need work.

With no guarantee that the $500,000 will be used to serve Rosati beyond funding the crossing closure, some residents questioned whether the community would see any benefit from the agreement.

“Every bit of it should be used in Rosati,” said Zulpo, who was doubtful that the money would be spent to improve infrastructure in Rosati. “We know what they’re going to do with it. They want to satisfy the Rolla people because that’s where they get their votes. They don’t much care about a little township like Rosati.”

Robert Burris, a Rosati resident, agreed that funds from the closing incentive should be spent in Rosati.

“Every bit of it should be used here,” Burris said. “Every dime should go to Rosati.”

Despite criticism of the agreement from Rosati residents, Phelps County Commissioners have maintained that the railroad crossing was a public safety hazard and needed to be closed.

“When the recommendation comes in to close it because of public safety, I will not negotiate on public safety. If the engineer reports never happened, I wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Stites said, referencing safety studies conducted by MoDOT and BNSF engineers.

Some Rosati residents have argued that the railroad crossing, which was in use for over a century, is not unsafe.

“Baloney,” Rosati resident Gene DeLuca said of claims that the railroad crossing was not safe. “One person dying is not a public safety hazard in 150 years, so that’s baloney.”

The railroad crossing was the site of a fatal motor vehicle accident in 2022. The deadly car crash was the incident that motivated DeLuca and other community members to approach the Phelps County Commission about installing safety equipment at the crossing, a process that snowballed into the crossing’s closure, to the dismay of some community members.

With the railroad crossing officially closed, DeLuca and other Rosati residents feel that the situation is a done deal.

“It’s over,” said DeLuca. “We can’t make the asphalt back anyway. Just make sure we remember come election time.”