Oklahoma devotes $100 million to improve safety at railroad crossings

In 2013, eight people were killed and 13 were injured in accidents at state rail crossings, transportation officials say.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation Director Mike Patterson said the $100 million comes from federal funds and the sale of the Sooner Sub rail line, which generated $75 million.

The agency is surveying crossings in an effort to come up with a list of locations to be improved, Patterson said. The list will be available after Jan. 1, he said.

Oklahoma has more than 3,700 at-grade crossings. The program could improve crossings at more than 300 locations.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation anticipates the rail crossings can be modernized and improved by adding rail safety infrastructure such as high-visibility signs, cross bucks, gates, hazard lighting and pavement markings.

The state-led rail safety program is unprecedented, said Brenda S. Mainwaring, Union Pacific vice president of public affairs.

“Oklahoma is a railroad state,” she said.

Incidents at railroad crossings have a profound effect on all those involved, including the train crew, she said.

“Since 1980, collisions at railroad crossings have declined 80 percent,” Mainwaring said. “And the kind of innovative program that is being introduced here today will help all of us make sure we keep driving that rate toward zero.”

“This initiative will fast-track hundreds of projects to improve over 300 rail crossings statewide,” Gov. Mary Fallin said.

Some crossings have no flashing lights or gates to serve as warnings for motorists, Fallin said.

“In 2013, Oklahoma did get a new record for exports, shipping $6.9 billion of goods out of state,” Fallin said. “That is good news for us that we have so much traffic.

“We transport many of these goods by rail, but we also need to make sure the lines are safe.”