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Pedestrian overpass plan to improve safety at Larrabee State Park completed
 
Aug. 25, 2009
Docket Number: TR-071945 & TR-070752

Olympia, Wash. – Engineering and design work on a proposal to build a pedestrian railroad crossing overpass in Larrabee State Park near Bellingham has been completed with funding approved by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC).

The UTC approved $46,307 in December 2007 for a plan to design, locate and select a type of bridge for a pedestrian walkway at Larrabee State Park on Samish Bay near Bellingham. The engineering and design work, finished this spring, was the second phase in a three-step process to build the overpass.

The money, disbursed by the UTC from the Grade Crossing Protective Fund, is used for safety measures that are designed to decrease the potential for accidents and fatalities at public and private crossings and along railroad tracks in the state. The Legislature approves the amount of money for projects and the UTC administers the fund.

Phase three of the project will build the overpass bridge and gravel pathway for pedestrian access to Clayton Beach at the park. Once completed, the project will provide a safe pedestrian walkway across the existing Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks. Currently, pedestrians illegally cross the tracks to reach the beach. Bridge construction is slated to begin within the next several years.

There are more than 5,000 public and private highway-railroad grade crossings (where roads and highways cross railroad tracks) in Washington. In 2008, there were 38 highway-rail crossing collisions, resulting in five deaths, two classified as suicides. So far this year, there have been 25 highway-rail crossing collisions, one resulting in death.

The UTC is the state agency responsible for railroad safety, including approving new grade crossings and closing or altering existing rail crossings. The agency investigates train accidents, inspects public railroad crossings, approves rail-safety improvement projects and manages Operation Lifesaver, a rail-safety education program in Washington and nationwide.