Construction will begin this weekend on a Valley railroad crossing identified as having one of the highest incident rates in the country. Signs are in place near the intersection of 35th Avenue and Indian School to alert drivers to upcoming road closures and restrictions.
The Federal Railroad Administration released a list of U.S. railroad crossings with the most incidents last year including trains striking vehicles stopped on the tracks, vehicles hitting moving trains, and pedestrian strikes. The 15 most dangerous areas were identified as having had at least 10 incidents in the past 10 years. The Phoenix Metro area hosts five of those 15 crossings, all are along Grand Avenue. There were no fatalities at any of the five Grand Avenue locations.
The Arizona Corporation Commission, which oversees railroad safety in the state, ordered improvements to the 35th Avenue and Indian School railroad crossing to include the addition of a second traffic signal and enhanced signal timing to prevent vehicles from stopping on the tracks. Since 2006, there have been 25 incidents at this location resulting in nine injuries.
Construction is expected to take 60 days. There will be some traffic restrictions during the construction with full closures anticipated. Notifications will be posted on site.
The remaining crossings slated for future improvements include:
West Thomas Road, east of 27th Avenue in Phoenix,
North 27th Avenue west of Thomas in Phoenix,
43rd Avenue and Grand/U.S. 60 in Glendale, and
5100 block of West Bethany Home Road in Glendale.