Ban Sought on ‘At-Grade’ Crossings : Transportation: Injuries, deaths caused by train-car crashes prompt regulators to push for more bridges or underpasses.

The tragic accident Tuesday that claimed a woman’s life in Irvine, where her car was struck by a speeding Amtrak train, is hardly a first. Between 1981 and 1986, there were 55 injuries or deaths at track crossings in Orange County, state officials say.

Such troubling numbers have prompted both state regulators and railroad officials to back a ban on construction of new “at-grade” crossings, which send cars swooping across tracks with few impediments from onrushing trains other than flashing lights and automatic crossing barriers.

“The idea these days is to not build any more at-grade crossings if at all possible,” said Steve Hogan, transportation program manager for the county Environmental Management Agency.

While state regulators rarely give permission today for construction of new roads across train tracks, there remain more than 8,700 at-grade crossings on public streets in California, and 76 in Orange County alone, railroad officials say.

There is little money, however, to finance railway bridges and other improvements that would ease the troubling mix of cars and trains, authorities say. Each year, the state doles out $15 million to finance new bridges or underpasses, enough money to pay for just two to three projects in California.

“The ideal situation would be no crossings at the track level,” said Michael Martin, a spokesman for Santa Fe Railroad, which owns the tracks used by the Amtrak train involved in the Irvine accident at Culver Drive. “But, realistically, the taxpayers could never pay for all of them.”

Indeed, for a decade Irvine city officials have discussed building a bridge and underpass project at the Culver Drive crossing to get trains away from car traffic, Mayor Larry Agran said. The project has consistently been derailed by funding restraints and community opposition, he said.

“We’ve become so discouraged over the years, it’s hard to muster any support for it,” Agran said.

Although aware of the safety benefit, residents near the Culver Drive crossing have balked at the idea because of fears of additional traffic noise and the unsightliness of a 30-foot-high bridge for cars and the under-crossing for the train tracks, Agran said.

In recent years, the city has not even proposed the project to the state Public Utilities Commission, which selects which rail crossings will be upgraded, said Ray Yick, senior transportation engineer for the commission’s railroad safety section.

“It’s not that it isn’t a dangerous crossing,” Yick said. “We’re not saying that. But the city or county has to nominate it before it is considered for funding.”

Agran said Irvine officials in recent months have been eyeing a proposal to build tunnels under the tracks at Culver Drive for pedestrians and cyclists using a nearby bike route. The project, which would likely cost more than $1 million, “seems to me to be very appropriate,” he said.

“I think the kind of tragedy we saw today underscores the wisdom of providing that kind of opportunity,” Agran said.