USDOT: SC receiving $60K to help prevent train collisions, blocked crossings

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WCBD) – The U.S. Department of Transportation is providing $570 million in funding to improve safety at railroad crossings and reduce the number of deadly train crashes in select states through a new federal program.

South Carolina will receive $60,000 from the Federal Rail Administration’s newly announced Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) Grant Program.

Officials say the RCE funding program will focus on over 400 at-grade crossings across the nation, promote safety, and allow ease of travel at railroad tracks by constructing grade separations, eliminating at-grade crossings, and upgrading existing at-grade crossings.

“Every year, commuters, residents, and first responders lose valuable time waiting at blocked railroad crossings – and worse, those crossings are too often the site of collisions that could be prevented,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we’re improving rail crossings in communities across the country to save lives, time, and resources for American families”

Officials reported over 2,000 highway-rail crossing collisions in the country with more than 30,000 complaints of blocked crossings submitted to the FRA.

As of current, the Florence Railroad Crossing Safety Improvement Planning Project is the only listed project in South Carolina supported by the RCE program.

USDOT will announce more projects that meet the criteria for special grant funding in the coming months.

More information about the RCE program can be found here.