Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 8694 |
| Work Detail | The New York area is getting a fifth of the $25 million in Federal Railroad Administration grants set aside to increase rail safety. The state Department of Transportation will receive nearly $5.2 million in grants, to be paid out in three chunks, to improve grade crossing signals and conditions between highway and rail traffic, and install closed-circuit TV cameras to record incidents at the crossings. “We cannot allow one more preventable tragedy at a rail crossing in our region,” said Lowey, whose district includes parts of Westchester and all of Rockland County, in a statement announcing the funds. “The heartbreaking Metro-North crash in Valhalla and too many near misses since remind us that we must continue to work to protect families at dangerous railroad crossings throughout the Lower Hudson Valley." The first part is $1.3 million to add highway traffic signal pre-emption to seven grade crossings on Metro-North's Harlem and Port Jervis lines. The devices will activate traffic signals at the intersections before the current warning systems, allowing traffic to get out of the way before a train comes. The second lays out $1.9 million and pays to "mitigate hazardous conditions between highway and rail traffic." In Westchester, it foots the bill for roadway, pavement markings and signage at the Virginia Road intersection in Valhalla. The third grant provides $1.9 million for closed-circuit TV cameras at 43 intersections within Metro-North territory in New York state, including the Commerce Street crossing where Ellen Brody's SUV was struck by a Metro-North train last February, killing six, Brody included, and injuring 15 in the deadliest crash in the railroad's history. The funds come from the FRA's Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Grants program announced in April to provide $25 million in competitive grants to railroads, local governments and states. Previously, in February, FRA Administrator Sarah Feinberg sent a letter urging state departments of transportation to examine safety recommendations made in 2010. In it, Feinberg references the Valhalla crash as a reminder of the "critical importance" of preventing rail crossing accidents. In Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, there are 71 railroad crossings on public and private roads used by both commuter and freight rail, according to FRA data. In March and April, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for action on railroad crossings and local state assemblymen and senators proposed several bills regarding the crossings this past legislative session. In Bedford in April, a home health care aide and her elderly patient just narrowly avoided being hit by a train at the Green Lane intersection by escaping the car seconds before. At grade crossings, the railroad is responsible for the tracks and railroad ties, while the agency that administers the road is responsible for the traffic signals and maintenance of the roadway. |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Railways |
| Entry Date | 15 Oct 2016 |
| Source | http://www.lohud.com/story/news/transit/2016/09/07/federal-railroad-administration-grant/89974348/ |
