PHOENIX — It was once listed as one of the most dangerous railroad crossings in the country, but a plan to make some big safety upgrades to 35th Avenue and Indian School Road was recently given the final clearance to move forward.
ABC15 has reported on a number of deadly crashes over the years at the intersection, which also crosses Grand Avenue and the train tracks.
Almost 10 years ago, the Federal Railroad Administration named the crossing the second most dangerous in the country.
In 2018, the Arizona Corporation Commission ordered it to shut down, unless an agreement on safety changes was made.
An Arizona Corporation Commission spokesperson told ABC15 that additional signals were since added, saying, “Since its installation, we have seen a reduction in the number of incidents at the crossing.”
Records from the Federal Railroad Administration show that the crossing is no longer in the top 25 when it comes to the number of incidents nationwide within the past four years.
Regardless, plans are now underway to make the intersection even safer.
Drivers have said the intersection can be complicated and, oftentimes, traffic backs up as they wait for trains to cross. There’s a bridge that crosses over, which is Indian School Road. Grand Avenue and 35th Avenue also cross underneath.
Once construction is completed, Arizona Department of Transportation spokesperson Doug Nintzel says 35th Avenue will elevate off the ground as well, so you’ll no longer have to cross the train tracks on Grand Avenue to get through.
He says the changes are not a direct response to the intersection’s dangerous history, but it is part of it.
“When we’re doing a study like that, we take into account what kind of safety record there is at an intersection,” Nintzel said. “So we, in working with the City of Phoenix, would have examined say how many crashes have occurred involving the railroad and that’s why we come to that conclusion that 35th Avenue going up and over both Grand Avenue and the railroad tracks, that’s going to create a much safer situation.”
When asked about the safety upgrades, a BNSF Railway spokesperson sent ABC15 the following statement that reads in part: “Grade crossing safety is an integral part of BNSF’s operations and culture. It involves daily cooperative efforts between the railroad and the more than 5,000 communities in 28 states (and three Canadian provinces) we serve. Since 1995, BNSF’s rate of grade-crossing collisions has declined more than 64%.”
Construction at the intersection isn’t set to begin until about two years from now. Nintzel says it’s part of a larger-scale project improving different intersections along Grand Avenue.