Northwest Indiana railroad crossings that cause traffic delays and safety hazards could get some attention from a federal appropriations bill that passed a U.S. House of Representatives committee this week.
U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Gary, said the proposed fiscal year 2020 appropriation includes increased funding for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program, which provides grants for projects such as improving grade-crossing safety and reducing railroad congestion.
Visclosky sits on the House Appropriations Committee and voted for the bill.
The proposed fiscal year 2020 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements appropriation of $350 million is $95 million (37%) more than the fiscal year 2019 appropriation. The bill goes to the full House, then to the Senate.
This year, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded nearly $57 million in grants for 18 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements projects in 16 states. That money was from the 2017 appropriations act.
Visclosky said, in a news release, that he is thankful the committee acted “to recognize the perilous danger of blocked railroad crossings in communities across our nation. This issue is of the utmost importance to Northwest Indiana communities with numerous railroad crossings, and I will continue to work to press the Administration to positively and actively address this issue in Northwest Indiana and across our country.”
Last week, Visclosky attended a Rail Crossing Task Force meeting at the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission in Portage and heard that stopped trains have blocked some roads in the region for hours at a time, making cars, trucks and emergency vehicles detour around them.
He said this week that he has requested language in the fiscal year 2020 appropriation legislation telling the Federal Railroad Administration and the Surface Transportation Board to work with communities and state transportation departments to address blocked crossings.
Visclosky also noted that the FY 2020 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act that passed the House Appropriations Committee includes $2.3 billion for the Federal Transit Administration’s capital grants program — $800 million more than proposed by the Trump administration.
The South Shore Line is seeking grants from that program for its proposed West Lake Corridor extension and its Double Track program. West Lake would extend a new line from Hammond to Dyer, and Double Track would be a second set of tracks between Gary and Michigan City.
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