Northwest Iowa — The Iowa Transportation Commission has approved funding for improvements at railroad crossings in O’Brien County and in Lester, along with 11 others around the state.
Kris Klop in the D-O-T Office of Rail Transportation says the latest projects are for the 2019 fiscal year and total $853-thousand.
The money is allocated by the state and helps take the rough crossings and make them new again.
Klop says the crossing improvement program helps bridge the difference between the two forms of transportation.
Klop says the projects approved now will take a year-and-a-half to two years to get completed, as there is a lot of planning to get both sides to fix the crossing.
The state funding pays for 60 percent of the project, while the railroad and the highway authority each pay 20 percent. Klop says after the latest round of funding, they still have 55 requests for funding. He says those requests will remain in line for funding in the next year.
The projects here in northwest Iowa include $55,327.80 for the Clinton Street crossing in Lester, in Lyon County, as well as $40,590 for a railroad crossing in O’Brien County.
Other fiscal year 2019 projects financed by the Transportation Commission include:
$ 83,812.20 – Black Hawk County – City of Cedar Falls – Center Street
$ 65,400.00 – Linn County – Linn County Central City – Road E-16
$ 74,400.00 – Linn County – Linn County Central City – Road E-16
$ 58,200.00 – Linn County – City of Cedar Rapids – McCloud Place NE
$ 80,400.00 – Buena Vista County – City of Storm Lake – Oneida Street
$ 60,600.00 – Buena Vista County – City of Storm Lake – Cayuga Street
$ 128,400.00 – Buena Vista County – City of Storm Lake – West 5th Street
$ 57,600.00 – Clarke County – City of Osceola – S. Ridge Road
$ 57,600.00 – Clarke County – City of Osceola – 240th Avenue
$ 75,000.00 – Wright County – City of Goldfield – East Cedar Street
$ 71,794.20 – Blackhawk County – City of Waterloo – Franklin Street
