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U.S. grants go to eliminate rail crossings of roads

The Department of Transportation is offering grant money to support projects that would eliminate points where railroad tracks cross the roads. Such accidents last year led to more than 200 deaths. File photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
1 of 2 | The Department of Transportation is offering grant money to support projects that would eliminate points where railroad tracks cross the roads. Such accidents last year led to more than 200 deaths. File photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

June 5 (UPI) -- U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday the federal government is offering more than $570 million in grants to improve traffic and safety by working to eliminate points where railroad tracks cross roads.

The Federal Railroad Administration, part of the Transportation Department, awarded the millions of dollars in grant money to projects across 32 states. The inaugural grant rollout is meant to eliminate points where railroad tracks cross roads, which leads to blocked traffic, including that for first responders.

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It would also lead to a reduction in deadly accidents involving trains and vehicles. There were 2,188 collisions reported last year, resulting in 274 fatalities.

"Every year, commuters, residents, and first responders lose valuable time waiting at blocked railroad crossings -- and worse, those crossings are too often the site of collisions that could be prevented," Buttigieg said.

An Alabama rail project is the largest recipient of federal grant money, with $41 million. More than 30 trains per day move across a busy county road, creating travel delays for as many as 24,000 drivers. A bridge and expanded travel lanes, including lanes for pedestrians, are including in the project overhaul.

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Amit Bose, the head of the federal rail agency, said the grant project will have a clear benefit to safety and transportation nationwide.

"With these project selections and the many more that are to come, we will save lives and reshape infrastructure in ways that allow individuals to move through their neighborhoods seamlessly and safely," he said.

Grants follow passage in the Senate of the bipartisan Railway Safety Act in May. Among other things, the measure mandates a two-person crew, something advocated by labor unions, and more of the so-called "hot box" detectors, which monitor the heat being generated from the wheels of a train.

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