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Wisconsin’s Office of the Commissioner of Railroads recently announced plans to fund signal upgrades at 78 grade crossings statewide between 2009 and 2011.

Costing about $200,000 per crossing, the upgrades call for installing new 12-inch LED flashing lights and gates. Federal funding can help railroads offset the cost of installing the new devices, according to the office.

Railroad Commissioner Roger Breske and his staff worked closely with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, railroads and local communities to identify, approve and schedule the crossing projects, Breske said in a prepared statement.

It takes two or more years to complete initial crossing discoveries, investigations, public hearings and comment periods, and project estimates and schedules, as well as to obtain signed agreements between the state and railroads, he said.