Fowler railroad crossing to be upgraded
FOWLER — The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has authorized the Norfolk Southern Corp. to upgrade a railroad crossing on Everett Cortland Hull Road in the township to flashing lights and roadway gates to improve safety.
Federal money will pay for the upgrades, which must be completed by Oct. 3, 2008.
The PUCO ordered railroad companies to perform safety upgrades at 74 crossings throughout the state in 2006. In Railroad crossing fatalities have dropped over the past two decades from 413 in 1986 to 108 in 2006, the PUCO reports.
The crossing is located in the northeastern part of the township just west of the Hartford Township line. The north-south rail line has a crossing there that is currently served only by two crossbuck signs.
A survey by the PUCO indicated that the crossing received an average of 21 train crossings per day, based on a survey done on Nov. 28, 2006, 12 of them during the day and nine at night.
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