NEWS                                           

OHIO RAIL

DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

50 W. Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215

(614) 644-0306 telephone or fax (614) 728-4520

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ohiorail/

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                            Contact: Stu Nicholson

Date: May 25, 2005                                                                                                                                                                            (614) 644-0513 

 

Safer Crossing for Canal Fulton

ORDC Approves “Smoother” Crossing Too

 

(Columbus) – A safer, less bumpy crossing awaits drivers who use the Cherry Street crossing with the RJ Corman Railroad in Canal Fulton.  The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) has authorized two improvements:

 

•                                 Reconstruction of the grade crossing with installation of a concrete roadway surface.

•                                 Modernization of the flashing warning lights with the addition of roadway gates and state-of-the-art electronic circuitry to control the lights and gates as a train approaches.

 

Generally, construction of an upgraded crossing can take from 8 months to a year. The average cost for such upgrades can run from $100,000 to $200,000, with most of the funding coming from federal and state sources.

 

“Improvements like these go a long way toward reducing the toll of accidents, injuries and deaths at Ohio’s railroad crossings”, says ORDC Executive Director James Seney.  Under ORDC’s grade crossing safety program, over 1,000 grade crossings have been modernized with new lights and gates and circuitry that activates those warning devices based on the speed of the approaching train.

 

 

 

(The Ohio Rail Development Commission is an independent agency operating within the Ohio Department of Transportation.  ORDC is responsible for economic development through the improvement and expansion of passenger and freight rail service, railroad grade crossing safety and rail travel & tourism issues. For more information about what ORDC does for Ohio, visit our website at http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ohiorail/ )