WASHINGTON -- The Federal Railroad Administration today will announce nearly $10 million in grants aimed at increasing safety at railway crossings, including nearly a half-million dollars earmarked for the Paragould area.
Flashing lights and crossing gates will be installed where the train tracks cross Northend Avenue and where they cross Greene County Road 818 northeast of town.
Currently, both locations only have crossbucks -- the black-and-white X-shaped signs indicating that a railway crossing is ahead.
Accidents have been reported near both sites in recent years. Officials have set aside $292,000 for the Northend Avenue site and $190,000 for the county road.
Arkansas is one of eight states that will receive the funding through the Safe Transportation of Energy Products (STEP) by Rail Program.
In a news release set to be released today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said: "These grants will reduce accidents and fatalities at railroad crossings and help modernize our nation's rail system."
On Aug. 3, 2013, two Paragould residents -- Joseph Lee Morgan, 20, and Tiffany Ann Clements, 26 -- were struck and killed by a train crossing Northend Avenue.
On Oct. 23, 2014, another train collided with a truck that was crossing Green County Road 818 -- also known as Cotton Belt Road. The driver, who was hauling a recycling bin to a nearby waste disposal facility, was taken to the hospital, according to media accounts.
Nationwide, 267 people died in collisions between trains and vehicles at railway crossings, administration officials said.
Overall, the number of railway-related fatalities climbed each year between 2011 an 2014 and was on pace to increase again in 2015, according to government statistics.
Steve Weston, grade crossing coordinator for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, said the two Paragould-area crossings qualified for the funds because trains in the area carry large amounts of crude oil.
Much of the oil, he said, comes from the Bakken Formation, which stretches from Saskatchewan to North Dakota. When a train carrying Bakken crude derailed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, on July 6, 2013, the subsequent fire and explosion claimed 47 lives.
Weston said the grant money is "good news."
State officials applied for the money last year, after realizing that the Paragould sites would qualify for funding, he said.
"Both of these crossings had come up on our radar as necessary, as needing improvements," he said.
Metro on 02/18/2016