The NOACA Governing Board approved the following project for inclusion in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) by adopting Resolution No. 2003-036 on June 13, 2003.

Title: Railroad Grade Separation at CSX and Elm Street (CR-50), in Grafton Village
Sponsor:  Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) District 3
Estimated Total Cost: $5,434,544
Proposed Source of Federal Funds: ODOT

History/Background:
This rail crossing is identified in NOACA’s Lorain County Railroad Crossroads Ranking Study, dated October 2000. The project is on Tier II of NOACA’s Major Regional Transportation Investments (as approved by the NOACA Governing Board in June 2002). The project is approved as a Tier I project in ODOT’s Railroad Grade Separation Program (12/20/02).

Current Conditions:
Elm Street is a two-lane road, functionally classified as a local road. The land use alongside the road is mixed. Elm Street has an average daily traffic (ADT) of 2,550 vehicles and average daily truck traffic of 90. The CSX railroad crossing has two tracks with approximately 54 trains crossing per day. According to the ranking study there was a total of two accidents within .01 mile of this crossing from 1996 – 1998. Also, there are no proximate, alternate routes for emergency access. The nearest emergency center is Elyria Memorial Hospital and the fire station in Grafton Village.

Proposed Project:
This project involves review of feasibility, design and construct a railroad grade separation on Elm Street at the CSX railroad crossing. The total preliminary engineering (PE) cost is $295,094. The right-of-way (RW) cost is $1,509,450. The construction (C) cost is estimated to be $3,630,000. The federal share will be funded through ODOT’s Rail Grade Separation Program.

Staff Comment (Summary):

• This project reflects ODOT’s “Access Ohio” Goal # 3 (Cooperative Planning Process and Transportation Efficiency) Policy Statement A 4 (developing evaluation criteria that establish priority among competing projects); and Goal #4 (Transportation Safety) Policy Statement B 1 (reducing the number of at-grade rail-highway grade crossings).
• The project reflects NOACA’s Transportation Plan (Framework For Action 2025 Update) Goal #2 (Conserving Transportation System Energy); and Goal #3 (Preserve and Improve the Efficiency and Safety of the Existing Transportation System; Goal #6 Adding capacity- while minimizing the adverse impacts of the investment on the existing communities within the region; Goal #10 fostering the improvement in the quality of life of residents in the region.