Railway Track & Structures - September 2007 - (Page 5) INDUSTRY TODAY LA giving 63 crossings “Sealed Corridor” treatment Congressman Howard Berman (DCalif.) presided over the first in a series of new grade-crossing enhancements in the Los Angeles area called the Sealed Corridor Program. With the most-aggressive grade-crossing safety plan currently under way in the entire U.S., Cong. Berman and Metrolink officials vow to bring Southern California rail crossings to a new higher standard. The plan, which targets 63 crossings along 65 miles of track on Metrolink’s Ventura County and Antelope Valley lines, includes improvements at grade crossings, including four-quadrant gates, longer gate arms, “Z” pedestrian crossings, median separators, locked gates, fencing and other enhancements. The holistic, “sealed corridor” approach has been used successfully in North Carolina. Metrolink, however, will be the first commuter rail agency in the country to apply these methods to a densely-populated urban setting with correspondingly high volumes of street and rail traffic. North Carolina saw an 86 percent reduction in gradecrossing violations when they installed quad gates, a 77 percent reduction with median separators and an 84 percent reduction with longer crossing arms. Metrolink has made grade-crossing improvements a priority since its inception in 1992, investing over $70 million to date. Metrolink has presided over the closure of seven public and 22 private railroad crossings. The agency TRANSPO® INDUSTRIES, Inc., completed the first BODAN® highway-rail grade crossing in New Jersey at Everitts Road in Flemington. TRANSPO provided technical help during installation. The BODAN system uses polymer concrete surface panels that offer high compressive strength and a bridge design concept that transfers the axle loads of the vehicles to the rails of the track. has been a national leader on the subject of grade-crossing improvements and has been pushing its $100-million Sealed Corridor Program to dramatically increase safety at grade crossings. To date the agency has secured approximately $20 million. Also in Los Angeles, local political leaders gathered Friday, August 10, to mark the start of major construction for a rail line from downtown to the westside. The first 8.6-mile leg of the line will run from the 7th Street/Metro Center Station in the heart of downtown to Culver City, moving along an old Southern Pacific rail line through southwest L.A., roughly following Exposition Boulevard. The route avoided heavy opposition from community groups and reduced costs, which will be at least $640 million. The line is supposed to start operations in 2010. Officials would like to extend the Expo Line about seven miles west to Santa Monica, but they expressed concerns about whether more than $800 million can be found to fund the last leg, particularly at a time when the state has proposed major cuts in transportation funding. www.rtands.com Railway Track & Structures September 2007 5 http://www.rtands.com
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