By Illinois Radio Network

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois will spend $194 million over the next five years on projects intended to make railroad crossings in the state safer.

Mike Stead, rail safety program administrator for the Illinois Commerce Commission’s Transportation Bureau Rail Safety Section, said the total number of crossings receiving safety improvements would be about 10 percent of state railroad crossings.

“The number of crossings that we are proposing projected for safety improvements is 700, out of a total of over 7,000 in the state,” Stead said.

In 2017, there were 86 crashes at public crossings and 26 fatalities in Illinois. Stead added that the state has a very high number of public railroad crossings.

“Illinois has the second-most highway-rail grade crossings of any state in the country,” Stead said. “Because of that, every year we have a significant number of crashes.”

Improvements would include automatic warning devices in more locations, some grade crossing and bridge replacements and opportunities to replace a grade crossing with a bridge, Stead said.

The improvements are coming from the Grade Crossing Protection Fund, which gets money from the state’s motor fuel tax. That tax is intended for maintaining and building new roads.

Stead said this work would be beneficial to local communities.

“The connection there is direct we believe, because of the intersection between local roads and the grade crossings and the railroad tracks at these grade crossings,” Stead said. “So, there is a direct benefit to local communities for these safety improvements.”

Stead said the signals and gates work would be performed by railroad employees. If the project includes railroad approach improvements at a crossing, those would likely be contracted out by the community with jurisdiction. Bridge projects would include a bidding process.

“Certainly if it is a bridge project, then the local community that is sponsoring that project will solicit bids and award that project to a contractor,” Stead said.