Hudson seeks federal grant to help build bridge, remove rail crossing on Hines Hill Road
Motorists could get relief from traffic congestion on Hines Hill Road if federal funds come through for reconfiguring a railroad crossing there.
Last month, the Ohio Rail Development Commission approved funding from the Ohio Grade Crossing Elimination Program for the city's plan to build an overpass at the tracks. With money provided in the most recent state budget for grade crossing eliminations, the Rail Commission will contribute 20% funding, or nearly $2.9 million, to match the city’s additional 20% funding commitment. The next step is to submit the project's application to the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Crossing Elimination Program. The grant program is competitive, with applications due in March. Norfolk Southern, which owns the tracks, has agreed to commit funding toward the project.
If the federal application is successful, the $14 million project will construct a grade separation in the form of a bridge for traffic Hines Hill Road traffic.
“This grade separation will not only resolve frequent interruption for residents and school buses, but more importantly a many decades long emergency services burden, requiring multiple dispatches for any calls in the northwest of Hudson," said Council President Chris Foster "The added bonus will be our ability to connect the northwest corner of the community to downtown via multipurpose paths, which has been out of the question for the past 35 years.”
Mayor Jeffrey Anzevino said the project, if it goes forward, will not only benefit Hudson but neighboring communities.
"Uninterrupted vehicle access in this corridor for residents, schoolbuses and especially emergency services is paramount for the safety and well-being of all,” Anzevino said.
Thom Sheridan, Hudson's city manager, agreed that the project will help with safety.
"I've rarely encountered a proposal with such clear and multifaceted benefits as the Hines Hill Road Bridge, and I fully support this project for Hudson," Sheridan said. "This isn't just about a railroad crossing; it's about safeguarding lives, reducing burden on adjacent communities, boosting our economy, and ensuring our emergency responders and school children get safely to where they are going."
Late last year, Hudson started creating quiet zones at the Stow Road and Hines Hill railroad crossings, in coorperation with Norfolk Southern. This includes installment of low profile, concrete medians with reflective delineators posted on top of the medians on Stow Road and Hines Hill Road.
A quiet zone is a section of a rail line at least one-half mile in length that contains one or more consecutive public highway-rail grade crossings at which locomotive horns are not routinely sounded when trains are approaching the crossing. Trains are set to cease sounding their horns in advance of these crossings, but may still sound them in emergency situations.
According to the Ohio Rail Development Commission, the state's road and rail networks intersect at nearly 5,700 at-grade railroad crossings. Since the Federal Railroad Administration began collecting blocked crossing data in late 2019, more than 10,500 reports for Ohio locations have been filed.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hudson seek federal grant to overhaul Hines Hill Road rail crossing
