Broward County Receives Grant for Safety Upgrades Along Florida East Coast Railway
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
Photo: Phillip Pessar
BROWARD COUNTY, Flor. – Broward County receives $16 million from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for safety upgrades.
The Federal Railroad Administration announced grants for many cities across the U.S. to study and maintain grade crossings to prevent train-vehicle collisions. With this additional passenger traffic from Brightline, planners in Broward County are concerned with “volume created by Broward’s portion of the long awaited ‘Coastal Link’ tri-county commuter rail, which would put additional trains along the Florida East Coast Railway tracks”.
To combat this, they have created the Broward County Sealed Corridor Project. The grant will cover maintenance under this project at “exit gates and medians at 21 grade crossings” on the rail line at a cost of more than $15.4 million. The Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization will match this grant at 20%. Surrounding cities, including Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, and Wilton Manors will also match 20% in funding.
Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization’s executive director, Gregory Stuart commented on the grant and Brightline’s installation of hardware in expanding its service to Orlando is “one of the best examples of partnerships within our region”. Brightline helped with the application for the grant.
Other cities in Florida have received funds for safety upgrades and maintenance on railways. Fort Lauderdale will also conduct a study on 15 crossings on Florida East Coast Railway’s corridor to reduce traffic delays. Moreover, West Palm Beach also received a grant totaling $320,000 with 20% matched funding from the city to study pedestrian crossings along the rail corridor.
