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The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) recently approved plans to upgrade seven grade crossings and provide a majority of the funding for the projects through the state’s Grade Crossing Protection Fund (GCPF).

To be completed by July 2010, the projects calls for installing automatic flashing light signals and gates. Some of the projects also include improvements to highway approaches and new signage.

Work locations include two Union Pacific Railroad crossings near Sidney; a UP crossing in Pana; a BNSF Railway Co. crossing near Lowder; a CN/Illinois Central Railroad crossing near Salem; a Norfolk Southern Railway crossing in Clarksdale; and a CSX Transportation crossing near Lawrenceville.

The ICC will provide more than $1.9 million from the GCPF to cover 85 percent to 95 percent of the projects’ costs. Funded by motor fuel taxes designated for rail safety improvements, the GCPF program provides $27 million annually for crossing upgrades and the construction or reconstruction of grade separations.