Ohio panel OKs CSX, Ohio Central rail crossing improvements

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio last week approved the upgrade of rail crossings involving CSX and Ohio Central Railroad in two of the state's counties.

The plans call for the railroads to install mast-mounted flashing lights and roadway gates. The projects must be completed by June 28, 2017, and will be funded with federal dollars, according to the commission's press release.

The projects' locations are an Ohio Central crossing at Schrock Road and Township Road 656 in Tuscarawas County; a CSX crossing at Green Road and Township Road 96 in Wood County; and a CSX crossing on County Road 28 in Wood County.

The commission is responsible for evaluating Ohio's public grade crossings to determine the need for installing active warning devices. Since it began these evaluations, the number of train-motor vehicle crashes in Ohio has decreased from 123 in 2001 to 72 in 2015, commission officials said.