As many as 25 rail crossings, stretching from Hancock County to Biloxi, Mississippi, will be closed for several days at a time as CSX Transportation conducts maintenance on its rail lines in South Mississippi.

The closings are expected to last several days, depending on weather conditions, a CSX engineer said. The maintenance work, includes replacement of tens of thousands of rail ties, upgrades to rail crossings and installation of new rail lines, said Kenny Durbin, a CSX track engineer.

About a third of rail crossings, particularly those constructed of wood, will be replaced with more modern rubber materials, Durbin said. "(The closings are) an inconvenience (to motorists), but they'll reap the benefits when we're through," Durbin said.

With rail lines running from New Orleans to Montgomery, CSX has hundreds of miles of track to maintain each year. Rather than visit them all in one lengthy work session, Durbin said the company staggers the maintenance work over a seven or eight year period. The company dispatches about 800 workers for the job, cramming in "a year's worth of work in a week," Durbin said.

Otherwise, Durbin said, the company would have to completely shut down its rail line for a month or more to finish the maintenance work on all its tracks. "So we think the good outweighs the bad," he said.

In addition, local rail closings will be staggered in some areas to prevent neighboring roads from being closed at the same time, Durbin said.

Durbin cautioned residents to steer clear of the maintenance work while its under way, saying it could pose a danger to those who draw too close. "It's fun to watch construction work," he said. "But in this case, it's better to witness from afar."