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Last week, the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) approved funding for five freight-rail projects.

The commission will provide grants to:
• the Ohio Central Railroad to repair a swing-bridge over the Muskingum River and a canal in Zanesville, as well as remove a deteriorated bridge and replace a private grade crossing in other areas;
• the Indiana & Eastern Railroad  to complete bridge repairs;
• the city of Lebanon to rehabilitate a line for the Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad tourist road; and
• the Ashland Railway to rehabilitate more than five miles of track  between Mansfield and Willard.

In addition, ORDC members reviewed efforts to improve crossing safety in the state through “signal pre-emption” — a process of improving crossing and traffic signal coordination to reduce car-train collisions — during their Nov. 19 meeting.