The Illinois Commerce Commission announced a 5-year plan to improve railroad safety crossing repairs on Tuesday. The Crossing Safety Improvement Program will spend $315 million over the next 5 years from the Grade Crossing Protection Fund to help local communities and railroads pay for safety improvements at over 1,400 crossing locations.
Next year in Greene County, at the North Park Drive Crossing in Carrollton – new highway gates and flashing lights will be installed and a new roadway approach will be paved. County Road 2000 North’s crossing near White Hall will receive the same treatment. Within White Hall’s City limits at McCarthy Avenue, new gates and crossing lights will be installed only.
Next year in Morgan County, in Franklin at Steinmeyer Road and the Franklin-Alexander Road crossings new gates and lights will be installed. In Murrayville, at the Murrayville-Woodson Road crossing, again new gates and lights will be installed.
Over the next four years, similar projects will occur in Carrollton, Hillview, Kane, Pearl, Roodhouse, White Hall, Barry, Baylis, Hull, Griggsville, Pleasant Hill, New Berlin, Alexander, and Valley City. To view a map of all the projects, visit this link.
In total, crossing and arm replacement in Greene County will total nearly $6 million, Morgan will receive $1.1 million, Pike over $6.2 million, and Scott with over $300,000 in improvements to crossings on the Kansas City-Southern and Norfolk-Southern railways. To view all the projects and their allocations, visit this link. The 2021-2025 Plan is at the bottom of the page.
The Grade Crossing Protection Fund (GCPF) was created by state law to assist local counties, townships, and municipalities in paying for safety improvements at highway-rail crossings on local roads and streets only.
Municipalities or other units of government that may have questions, or need additional information, please contact Brian Vercruysse, Rail Safety Program Administrator, at (312) 636-7760, or through email at brian.vercruysse@illinois.gov.