The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) recently approved its annual five-year improvement plan to begin implementing highway-rail safety capital projects throughout the state.
The plan, Crossing Safety Improvement Program, will receive $194 million in funding from the Grade Crossing Protection Fund and will address low-cost improvements at approximately 500 locations, 194 new grade-crossing projects, and 16 new bridges.
Projects will be prioritized based on geographical location, traffic volume, collision history, engineering requirements and other factors.
Locations where there is a high risk of accidents, where grade-crossing blockages cause traffic delays and where passenger trains operate also have priority.
“Rail crossing safety is a top priority of the Illinois Commerce Commission to prevent the loss of life due to trail related collisions,” ICC Chairman Brien J. Sheahan said. “The Crossing Safety Improvement Program enables the ICC to identify and help provide funding for much needed rail-crossing safety projects on local roads and streets in communities throughout Illinois.”
One of the largest projects is $9 million to construct a new Curtis Road bridge over the Illinois Central Railroad. This replaces the Curtis Road highway-rail crossing in Savoy in Champaign County.
In 2017, there were 86 collisions at public crossings, 9.3 percent lower than the previous year. Fatalities, however, increased from 20 in 2016 to 26 in 2017.