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OKLAHOMA CITY – Three railroad corridor safety upgrade projects estimated to cost nearly $2.5 million have been approved by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

Federal funds allocated for railroad crossing safety upgrades will pay about $2 million of the costs of the projects at Hennessey, in Kingfisher County; Apache, in Caddo County; and Panama, in LeFlore County. The projects must be completed within 12 months.

Corridor projects seek to improve safety for the railroads and motorists by upgrading safety systems at some crossings and closing other crossings in a specific zone.

The largest project is in Hennessey, where the Union Pacific Railroad will install flashing- light signals with gate arms and concrete crossing surfaces at the Main, Oklahoma, Fourth and Seventh street and Conoco Road and state highway 51 crossings.

The project also will close the Nebraska, Second and Third street crossings and construct an access road parallel to the tracks between First and Third streets. Total Cost is estimated at $1,197,000. Federal funds will pay 79 percent of the cost and the Union Pacific will pay the rest, according to documents filed with the Corporation Commission.

In the Apache corridor project, the Union Pacific Railroad will install new crossing surfaces and safety equipment at crossings at U.S. 62/281 highway (north), U.S. 62/281 and state 19 highways, Cob Lake Road, U.S. 62 highway (south) and at Evans Street, and close the crossing at Lorrist Street.

Federal funds will pay 80 percent of the total estimated cost of $953,300. The Union Pacific will pay the other 20 percent.

Apache is served by a secondary main line that runs from Lawton to Chickasha.

In Panama, the Kansas City Southern Railway will reconstruct crossing surfaces and install flashing-light signals with gate arms at the Choctaw and Tecumseh street crossings and close the McCurtain Street crossing. The McCurtain Street crossing closure project will include resurfacing Pierce Road between McCurtain and Tecumseh streets.

Federal funds will pay 90 percent of the estimated $335,723 cost of the project. The Kansas City Southern will pay 10 percent of crossing surface construction costs and the town of Panama will pay 10 percent of signal construction and roadway repaving costs, documents filed with the Corporation Commission indicate.

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