Monday, August 16, 2004 (Washington, DC) Alabama, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington, and Wisconsin will share $5.2 million to improve highway-rail grade crossings as part of a program to enhance safety and prepare federally designated corridors for future high-speed rail operations.

"These grants will help prevent vehicle-train collisions and move us closer to the day when high-speed rail can be a real option for travelers," said Acting Federal Railroad Administrator Betty Monro.

High-speed rail corridors are meant to provide intercity passenger transportation that is as fast as air or automobile travel for trips between 100 and 500 miles.

The grants will partially fund improvements to highway-rail crossings in each state as follows:

· Alabama will receive $1,242,600 to support the construction of a grade separation to carry Hamilton Boulevard over the CSX tracks in Mobile. The line is part of the Gulf Coast Corridor connecting Mobile to New Orleans and Houston.

· Oklahoma will receive $1,565,700 to upgrade five BNSF crossings in the central business district of Tulsa. The improvements to Greenwood Avenue, Elgin Street, Cheyenne Street, Elwood Street, and Guthrie Street include barrier medians and four-quadrant gates. The line is part of the South Central Corridor connecting Tulsa with Oklahoma City, Dallas / Ft. Worth, and San Antonio.

· South Carolina will receive $1,043,800 to upgrade one Norfolk Southern and two CSX crossings in Columbia. The improvements to Assembly Street, Whaley Street, and Rosewood Drive include new track circuitry, lights, and gates. The line is part of the Southeast Corridor connecting Columbia with Jacksonville, Richmond, and Washington, DC.

· Washington will receive $994,100 to improve several BNSF crossings including: to provide new track circuitry at Fir Street, Riverside Drive, College Way, and Hoag Road in Mt. Vernon; to conduct studies to close South Holgate Street in Seattle; and to develop a plan to close or improve 15 private crossings between Stanwood and Mt. Vernon. The funding also contributes toward construction of a pedestrian crossing near First Avenue and Camilla Somers Park in Kelso and a pedestrian underpass near the BNSF White River Trestle and East Valley Highway in Auburn. The line is part of the Pacific Northwest Corridor connecting Seattle with Portland and Vancouver, British Columbia.

· Wisconsin will receive $372,800 to upgrade nine Canadian Pacific crossings with new track circuitry, lights, and gates in seven counties including: County Trunk Highway F and Third Street in Jefferson County; Division Street in Juneau County; Leonard Street at Elm Street in La Crosse County; North 13th Street in Milwaukee County; Glendale Avenue in Monroe County; County Trunk Highway C in Racine County; and Wisconsin Avenue and Kopmeier Road in Waukesha County. The line is part of the Chicago Hub Corridor connecting Milwaukee with Chicago and Minneapolis / St. Paul.

The funding is made available under Section 1103 (c) of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). Since 1993, this grant program has improved over 450 crossings nationwide.

The Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Highway Administration jointly manage this grant program.