Illinois panel OKs $194 million plan for rail crossing projects

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has approved a five-year plan that calls for $194 million in funding to help local communities and railroads pay for safety improvements at more than 700 rail crossings.

The Grade Crossing Protection Fund will distribute the dollars over fiscal years 2019-2023 to help cover the cost of 16 new bridge projects, 194 new grade crossing projects and low-cost improvements at about 500 crossing locations.

"Rail crossing safety is a top priority of the Illinois Commerce Commission to prevent the loss of life due to train-related collisions. The Crossing Safety Improvement Program enables the ICC to identify and help provide funding for much-needed rail crossing safety projects on local roads and streets in communities throughout Illinois," said ICC Chairman Brien Sheahan in a press release.

Major projects in the plan include:
• $12.6 million to assist Sangamon County with the cost to construct a grade separation to carry Iron Bridge Road over the Union Pacific Railroad track near Chatham;
• $9 million to assist Champaign County with the cost to construct a bridge to carry Curtis Road over Illinois Central Railroad tracks. The project will replace the existing Curtis Road grade crossing in Savoy;
• $3.5 million to assist Chicago with the cost to reconstruct a CSX bridge over 63rd Street;
• $2 million to assist Elmhurst to construct a new pedestrian grade separation of Union Pacific Railroad tracks adjacent to York Road;
• $2 million to assist Mundelein with the cost to construct a pedestrian-rail grade separation of the Wisconsin Central Ltd. tracks near Hawley Street; and
• $1 million to reconstruct roadway approaches and install gates and automatic flashing light signals on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at the Illinois Central Railroad tracks in Decatur.

The ICC prioritizes projects based on factors such as collision history, traffic volume, engineering requirements and geographical location.