$10 Million Is OKd for O.C. Rail Safety Upgrades

The Orange County Transportation Authority on Monday approved the use of $10 million in federal funds to improve safety at 55 railroad crossings across the county.

OCTA officials said the crossings are on the main rail line through north Orange County and along Metrolink rights-of-way from Fullerton to San Clemente.

The money will pay for new crossing gates, additional warning signs, better traffic signals, barriers for pedestrians and raised street medians to keep motorists from gaining access to tracks. OCTA allocated the money based on a comprehensive study of railroad crossings in the county and possible ways to improve their safety.

Authority officials said the allocation represented the first time that the OCTA had funded a railroad crossing program. The first improvements could be completed as early as spring 2006.