Maria Kacik | The Gazette
MEDINA — Drivers on rural county roads will have more than just traffic signs advising caution at three of the county’s railroad crossings.
The Medina County Railroad Safety Task Force secured funding for gates and lights to be installed at crossings on Beat and Stone roads in Litchfield Township and Root Road in Spencer Township. The devices cost about $170,000 each.
County Commissioner Pat Geissman, who founded and chairs the task force, explained the group decides every year which of the county’s 108 railroad crossings need safety devices most. They then work with the railroad and state and federal organizations to secure funding.
Jean Marks of Litchfield Township and her dog, Sadie, cross the tracks at Beat Road on Thursday. The railroad crossing is to receive crossing gates and warning lights. (Maria Kacik | The Gazette)
Wheeling and Lake Erie owns the railroad tracks at all three of the crossings up for safety equipment this year. In addition to paying 10 percent of the cost of construction, it also will pay to maintain the equipment throughout its lifetime, Geissman said.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has promised 55 percent funding on the Beat and Stone roads crossing and 65 percent funding on the Root Road crossing. In addition, the North American Railway Foundation is contributing $30,000. The rest will be picked up by Ohio Rail Development commission, commissioners said.
This marks 16 dangerous railroad crossings upgraded in the county and $3.3 million in funding secured by the Medina County Railroad Safety Task Force in the last five years, commissioners said.
Geissman said the task force last year secured funding to update four crossings: those at Boston Road and Myrtle Hill in Liverpool Township, Deerview Lane in Lafayette Township and Vandemark Road in Litchfield Township. She said those crossings will be upgraded soon.
Contact Maria Kacik at (330) 721-4049 or mkacik@ohio.net.
