Legislation authored by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) will provide nearly $40.5 million to the city of Washougal, Washington to address railroad crossing safety.
Part of the $570 million awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) Grant Program, the money for Washougal will address safety issues, the Congresswoman’s office said. Cantwell authored legislation creating the grant program and ushered the bill through Congress as part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Washougal will receive $40,480,000 to fund the development, final design, right of way acquisition and rail bridge construction for the 32nd Street Underpass Project which will reconnect the Addy Street neighborhood with the city’s downtown and port areas. Officials said five key intersections will be reconstructed along 32nd Street with the focus being to increase safety and reduce the risk of vehicle-train collisions. The improvements are also designed to reduce freight rail bottlenecks and move goods more reliably and efficiently, officials said.
“This grade crossing is one of the busiest along the BNSF railroad line in the entire State of Washington, and it creates a real hardship for the Washougal community,” Cantwell said. “When a train blocks the crossing, emergency vehicles can’t get through and traffic backs up onto State Route 14. Building a new railroad bridge and underpass structure between Main Street and F Place will connect the two halves of Washougal while helping the entire transportation corridor – both road and rail – operate more efficiently.”
The FRA announced Monday the RCE will fund 63 projects in 32 states to reduce train-vehicle collision as well as blocked rail crossings across the country. The RCE program is the first to address rail crossing dangers. In March 2021, Cantwell released a report studying and assessing the safety and efficacy of at-grade railroad crossings, which found that federal programs were not sufficiently addressing those safety and congestion concerns.
An estimated 2,000 collisions occur every year at highway-rail grade crossings, the FRA said, and every year residents, government officials and others complain to the agency about delays and disruptions caused by frequently blocked crossings that force residents and first responders to wait at intersections or take detours.