The proposed project will support planning and project development activities to grade separate, close, and or improve safety through other alternatives identified through the planningprocess for…

This $1,525,000 federal Project Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration (CFDA 20.327 Railroad Crossing Elimination Program) will support planning and project development activities to grade separate, close, and improve safety at three adjacent railroad crossings in East Durham, North Carolina. Key tasks include detailed project planning, community engagement, planning studies, preliminary engineering, and environmental review. The grant will fund activities such as reassessing previous crossing recommendations, updating analyses for current and expected increased traffic, and developing conceptual designs to enhance connectivity and safety for both the railroads and the traveling public. Durham County Government and partner GoTriangle will contribute a 20% non-federal match. The project is expected to be completed by July 31, 2028.

The proposed project will support planning and project development activities to grade separate, close, and or improve safety through other alternatives identified through the planningprocess for three adjacent crossings in east durham. The rail right-of-way is owned by north carolina railroad company, and norfolk southern and CSX operate over these crossings. Thestudy will reassess recommendations from a NCDOT 2014 traffic separation study and update IT for current and expected increased traffic, which will improve connectivity and safety.durham county government and project partner gotriangle will contribute funds totaling a 20 percent non-federal match. $120,000 of this project funding amount qualifies for the statutoryset-aside for planning projects. Beneficiaries include the railroads and the traveling public.task 1: detailed project work plan, budget and scheduletask 2: community engagementtask 3: planning over under study (with closing options)task 4: preliminary engineering of selected alternative (30%)task 5: environmental reviewsince selection for award, FRA has revised its guidance for planning projects, and has worked with the grantee to refine the statement of work to include the following tasks:task 1: project administration and managementtask 2: purpose and need statement and stakeholder coordination plantask 3: alternatives analysistask 4: environmental reviewtask 5: preliminary engineeringtask 6: nepa documentation