Three rural roads are being made considerably safer for northern Bartholomew County motorists.
In January, the Bartholomew County commissioners announced one of their top priorities for 2020 was to create safer railroad crossings at seven different locations along the Louisville & Indiana tracks.
Four individuals died within five weeks in vehicle accidents with trains on those tracks in late 2018.
On Friday, county highway engineer Danny Hollander announced the installation of new crossing flashers and arms at three railroad crossings in the northern part of the county. The upgraded crossings are located along county roads 400N, 450N and 500N, Hollander said.
Under a multi-agency agreement, Bartholomew County government agreed to pay for arms and lights at railroad crossings along three county roads — 800N, 650N and 950S, Hollander said.
In return, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) said they would finance all three of the projects that have just been completed, while the Louisville & Indiana Railroad is paying to add arms and lights to crossings along County Road 550N and Spear Street, Hollander said.
“We’ve pushed and asked and begged for several years for an agreement like this,” Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz said earlier this year.
Last fall, the commissioners authorized Hollander to begin seeking financing through the federal Railway-Highway Crossings program, established to reduce the crash risk of the most hazardous public highway rail crossings in Indiana. As a result, grants were awarded to both Bartholomew County and the Louisville & Indiana Railroad that will be administered by the state, Hollander said.
While engineering work for the crossings being handled by county officials has been completed, the actual work can’t begin until the state bills the county — and that hasn’t happened yet, Hollander said.
Meanwhile, the Louisville & Indiana Railroad does not anticipate moving ahead on its two projects until the new state fiscal year begins on July 1, the county highway engineer said.
