CRISI grants awarded to Colorado for crossing safety project, passenger-rail study

U.S. lawmakers representing Colorado announced a $4 million federal grant to the city of Longmont for a grade crossing safety project, and a $225,000 grant awarded for a passenger-rail study.

Both grants were awarded as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Consolidated Rail Infrastructure an Safety Improvements Program (CRISI).

Longmont will receive the $4 million in funding to create quiet zones and improve safety in the city. The total project cost is $8 million, with the city providing matching funds, according to a press release issued by U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet's (D-Colo.) office.

Rail traffic through Longmont has doubled over the past 10 years. Due to a rule that requires trains to sound their horn at all crossings that don’t satisfy federal safety requirements — of which Longmont has 17 — train horns have sounded more frequently and more intensely in the area. The funding will pay for the installation of safety equipment to keep trains from sounding their horns, creating quiet zones in the city.

"The noise from train horns has created a substantial burden on the local community and quality of life for Longmont residents for years, and this funding will go a long way toward providing much needed relief," Bennet said.

The grant to Longmont was announced by Bennet, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and U.S. Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo).

Meanwhile, the $225,000 CRISI grant was awarded to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) in partnership with the Southwest Chief and Front Range Passenger Rail Commission. The federal dollars will be used to help fund the Southwest Chief Thru-Car Service to Colorado Springs Feasibility Study.

The study will analyze the potential extension of passenger-rail service on the Amtrak Southwest Chief to Pueblo and Colorado Springs.

"This extension from service, from La Junta, Colorado, has the potential to provide critical transportation connectivity, along with social and economic benefits," Bennet and Gardner wrote to USDOT in a December 2019 letter in which they advocated for the federal grant to support the study. "This new service could also bolster ridership on Amtrak's Southwest Chief line, which provides important service to our rural communities."