Rail Crossing Safety: At What Price?

Highway safety legislation includes provisions for supplementing state spending for safety measures at rail-highway crossings. The Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) has designated several types of safety improvements that may be federally funded, including better warning devices or elimination of crossings. The Highway Safety Act of 1976 reduced the percentage of highway safety funds available for high-hazard locations and roadside obstacles and more than doubled the funding for improvements at railroad crossings although only 2 percent of highway deaths occur at grade crossings.