On June 8, the Broward MPO was awarded a $15.4 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). FRA Deputy Administrator Jennifer Mitchell made the announcement at the MPO’s Board of Directors meeting.
Funded by the historic $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program funds highway-rail and pathway-rail grade crossing improvement projects that focus on improving the safety and mobility of people and goods.
Mitchell addressed investments being made in Florida through the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program, notably safety upgrades at 21 grade crossings along Florida’s East Coast (FEC) Rail Corridor, a freight rail corridor shared with Brightline’s intercity passenger rail service. These upgrades being funded by the Biden-Harris Administration include a local match from Broward County Government (10%) and six local municipalities (10% total from Dania Beach, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, and Pompano Beach) and are pivotal to meeting our region’s goal of zero pedestrian and vehicular casualties. The FEC rail crossings currently have 60 trains per day.
Along the FEC Rail Corridor in Broward County, nearly 50% of collisions are the result of motorists driving around entrance gates. Safety improvements will deter such actions by constructing 33 new exit gates and 7 raised medians at crossings where at least 27 collisions have occurred over the last five years.
Learn more, here:
- https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2023/06/06/u-s-sending-millions-of-dollars-to-upgrade-safety-of-broward-rail-crossings/
- https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2023/06/17/millions-pour-in-for-rail-safety-but-its-up-to-south-florida-localities-to-fix-the-problems/
- https://www.rtands.com/regulatory/broward-county-receives-grant-for-safety-upgrades-along-florida-east-coast-railway/
- https://cbs12.com/news/local/16-million-dollars-train-collisions-in-south-florida-west-palm-beach-florida-east-coast-rail-corridor-safety-action-plan-june-6-2023
- https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023/06/08/safety-improvements-coming-to-brightline-tracks-in-broward-county/
- CBS 4 at 5:30 p.m. - https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#report/d5903a01-731c-4040-a8de-1aff0367b790/clip/c7f3a065-e136-4098-98ff-f32a1458a537/play