Downtown Washougal and the Addy Street neighborhood will be reconnected by a rail-grade separation project thanks to a $40.5 million federal grant just announced. The project was one of three selected in Washington and among 63 across the nation to receive funding from the new Rail Crossing Elimination program created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In addition to the grade separation, it will involve reconstructing five key intersections along 32nd Street to improve freight fluidity.
The award will allow planning and project development, with the ultimate goal of improving safety and connectivity. It’s the objective of the Federal Railroad Administration that planning grants like this one will build a pipeline of projects for future funding.
The RCE grant program gets to the heart of the rail safety discussion we’ve been seeing here and across the nation. That’s because the overwhelming majority of safety incidents — 95 percent of all rail-related fatalities — occur at crossings or when people are on the tracks. Washington ranks seventh in the U.S. for pedestrian rail trespass causalities.
The number of at-grade crossings across the U.S. has declined 10 percent since 2005, as railroads have worked with the U.S. Department of Transportation and local authorities to identify crossings for consolidation and elimination. Now the RCE will accelerate this focus. It’s good policy that will enhance both safety and efficiency in rail communities like ours.
