1 month, 4 weeks ago by Scott Hardy
Two crossings in Clark County and two in Scotland County have been selected to be closed, one year after fatal Missouri crash.
The Missouri Department of Transportation unveiled a report Thursday with recommendations to address passive rail crossings in Missouri, including an Amtrak line in Northeast Missouri.
The report released on Thursday, a year after the Amtrak crash near Mendon, Missouri that killed four people, calls for spending $50 million to improve safety along the state's railroad lines. The report outlines the plan to work with the railroads and the communities who own the local roads at the 47 remaining passive public rail crossings in Missouri. It recommends that that passive crossings for Amtrak's Southern Chief line at County Road 136 and County Road 159, both near Kahoka be closed, and that a crossing on County Road 113 near Wyaconda be upgraded to include better signage. The report also says that passive crossings at both Colt Lane and Hicks Road near Gorin be closed as well. MoDOT says that money will be available to local communities to apply for additional advanced signage on roads, as drivers approach a railroad crossing. Those crossings could already have lights and gates, but additional advance warnings signs can further alert drivers to the situation ahead.
The next MoDOT study will focus on four railroad corridors across the state that carry freight only. That includes the BNSF line that runs along the Mississippi River throughout Northeast Missouri.
