A new Transportation Department grant program is aiming to improve safety at the nation’s rail crossings, sending $570 million this year to 32 states to upgrade more than 400 locations.
, shed light on the effects trains have on communities, including extended blocking of intersections. Residents have called for changes as they report that trains are disrupting traffic, causing seniors to miss doctor’s appointments and forcing children to crawl under them to get to school.In some cases, firetrucks and ambulances have not been able to respond to emergencies.
The grants include nearly $37 million for Houston to build four underpasses and eliminate seven at-grade crossings in the city’s east end, an area that endures chronic train blockages that residents and elected leaders say affect daily life and commercial activities.Pelham, Ala., will use its $41.7 million grant to build a bridge over two crossings on County Road 52 in the heart of the city that officials say are frequently blocked, leaving first responders unable to access half the city.
The Railway Safety Act, which advanced last month to the Senate floor, would require railroads to maintain a toll-free number for people to report blocked crossings. Since 2019, the FRA has operated a website where people canlast year, with nearly 1 in 5 reports citing first responders blocked by trains. Another one-fifth noted pedestrians crawling under train cars or over couplings to get to the other side.
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