Some of the outrage occurring here is ridiculous. A case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't."
The city did fine prior to the overpass and the Niedringhaus Avenue and 25th Street crossings are still open. For everyday commuters who are concerned about being late due to trains, simply leave 10 minutes early and take the Venice or Pontoon overpasses.
Infrastructure must be maintained. If not, it will eventually fail and someone will die. I'd hate to see that outrage if that ever occurred.
In this case, I do believe the state is footing the bill. They decide when to fund these projects and I suspect that the Juneau office (city engineers) planned & completed the track crossing closings prior to knowing about the 19th Street reconstruction. The original closings were closed for two reasons: the first because the railroad lines funded a percentage of our Century Dr / Pontoon construction in return for the closings, and the second because the state is active removing at-grade crossings due to the upcoming 110 mph trainsets that will travel the lines.
I do not see any other solution and cannot pinpoint any blame on any particular individual. The "issue" was caused by a discrepancy between the local and state governments. And to be honest, when the 20th street crossing was blocked, the 22nd Street and possibly the Niedringhaus or 25th Street crossings were blocked as well. Trains aren't short.