South SFV Today

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On June 6, U.S. Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (CA-16) announced that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will award $6,000,000 to the City of Palo Alto to eliminate at-grade Caltrain crossings at Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Avenue.

“I’m proud to have voted for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) which established the first dedicated grant program for grade separations. There is significant demand from my constituents for grade separations along the highly congested Caltrain corridor, and this funding will increase traffic flow, improve air quality, and promote traffic safety. The Charleston Avenue crossing is the 19th most dangerous in California, with more fatal collisions than any other along the Caltrain corridor,” said Rep. Eshoo.

Background:

The award is funded by the Rail Crossing Elimination Program, a discretionary grant program authorized by the IIJA to fund highway-rail and pathway-rail grade crossing projects that improve the safety and mobility of people and goods. The proposed project will complete project development activities for rail grade improvements at Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive, and Charleston Road. The City of Palo Alto is providing a 70 percent match.

Rep. Eshoo previously secured $2,000,000 for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to support cities in Santa Clara County, including Palo Alto, with planning and designing their grade separation projects. 

"Separating the Caltrain corridor from local roads is vital for connecting communities, improving public safety, and reducing bottlenecks for all modes. We are thankful for Rep. Eshoo’s efforts to champion grade separations and we look forward to working with Palo Alto to deliver this project,” said Michelle Bouchard, Caltrain Executive Director 

“Leveraging federal funding to support the City of Palo Alto’s rail corridor safety improvements is critical in addressing our community’s needs including ensuring connectivity for our many transportation modes through advancing rail grade separation priorities,” said Lydia Kou, Palo Alto Mayor. “We are grateful to Congresswoman Eshoo for her leadership representing the needs of Palo Alto, supporting these funding opportunities and making them a reality.”

Original source can be found here