Forty-nine Million dollars to upgrade rail crossings across the state has been requested by the Missouri Department of Transportation in the upcoming state budget, but the Senate Appropriations Chair wants to know why last year’s budget for crossing improvements was not all spent.
In 2022, an Amtrak passenger train crashed into a dump truck at a railroad crossing in western Missouri’s Mendon, causing the entire train to derail. Four people were killed, including the truck driver, and more than 140 people were injured. At the time, the railroad crossing at Mendon did not have signal lights, bells, or crossing arms. It has since been closed.
MoDOT Director Ed Hassinger told the committee that the main obstacle is getting counties and railroads to agree on the upgrades. He says crossings on most state roads are upgraded, but they can not force work to be don’t on roads they do not own,