Oklahoma’s US$100 million rail crossings upgrade

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is to fast-track hundreds of projects to improve more than 300 rail crossings state-wide and upgrade safety warning features on rail crossings across the state. Many of these crossings have only rail crossing signs or faint pavement markings and no flashing lights or cross arms to serve as additional warning for motorists of oncoming trains. According to ODOT, of the more than 3,700 at-grade rail crossings in the state, many have some level of recognised d
August 28, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (784 ODOT) is to fast-track hundreds of projects to improve more than 300 rail crossings state-wide and upgrade safety warning features on rail crossings across the state. Many of these crossings have only rail crossing signs or faint pavement markings and no flashing lights or cross arms to serve as additional warning for motorists of oncoming trains.

According to ODOT, of the more than 3,700 at-grade rail crossings in the state, many have some level of recognised deficiencies when it comes to rail crossing safety. Most of the crossings are on local roads but the department remains involved because of overall rail safety.

ODOT anticipates the rail crossings can be modernised and greatly improved by adding rail safety infrastructure such as high-visibility signage, cross bucks, gates, hazard lighting and pavement markings.

The improvements are being funded by combining proceeds from the recent sale of the Sooner Sub rail line in addition to dedicated rail safety funds from ODOT and other partners.

"The department has long recognised the great need for improving rail crossings on the state, county and local transportation system. Now with the influx of funding available from the sale of the Sooner Sub rail line, we are excited to use this money to expedite the process of improving safety along rail systems across the state," ODOT executive director Mike Patterson said.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New Haven shows small can be beautiful
    October 22, 2014
    Connecticut’s new administration is using smart policy and ITS solutions to bridge social divides. Andrew Bardin Williams investigates. With only 130,000 residents, New Haven can hardly be called a metropolis. Measuring less than 502km (18 square miles), the city is huddled against the coast, squeezed between two mountains (appropriately called East Rock and West Rock) that, at 111m and 213m (366ft and 700ft) respectively, can hardly be called mountains. The airport is small and has limited service, and th
    Read More
  • America explores road user charging options
    November 14, 2017
    Jack Opiola casts an eye over the numerous road user charging pilots underway in the US. In the USA, congestion mitigation and improving mobility have often focused on network improvements, increased road capacity, improved public transport, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes or ‘express lanes’ and ITS measures – all of which require political capital and major funding. Nowadays, political capital is as hard to obtain as funding because more political leaders are recognising the decline of fuel excise tax
    Read More
  • America explores road user charging options
    November 27, 2017
    Jack Opiola casts an eye over the numerous road user charging pilots underway in the US. In the USA, congestion mitigation and improving mobility have often focused on network improvements, increased road capacity, improved public transport, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes or ‘express lanes’ and ITS measures – all of which require political capital and major funding. Nowadays, political capital is as hard to obtain as funding because more political leaders are recognising the decline of fuel excise tax in
    Read More
  • Intersection monitoring from video using 3D reconstruction
    March 9, 2016
    Researchers Yuting Yang, Camillo Taylor and Daniel Lee have developed a system to turn surveillance cameras into traffic counters. Traffic information can be collected from existing inexpensive roadside cameras but extracting it often entails manual work or costly commercial software. Against this background the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) was looking for an efficient and user-friendly solution to extract traffic information from videos captured from road intersections.
    Read More

Highlighted Content