Federal funding

Blockage records for federal grant applications

FRA's Railroad Crossing Elimination program pays for grade separations, the permanent fix. Competitive applications show how often a crossing is blocked, for how long, and who gets cut off.

Still from the 3D film: bars of blocked minutes rising over each crossing on a stylized map of Norman. — A 38-second 3D illustration with sample data. Sensors placed outside the railroad right-of-way detect a train blocking a crossing in Norman. Two independent signals agree and a timestamped record is written. Over months, the records add up to blocked minutes for every crossing, shown as bars rising from each crossing on a stylized map. The City submits an application to the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Crossing Elimination Program, with a project narrative, the crossing data, emergency response impacts and a benefit–cost analysis. If funded, a grade separation is built: the road is lowered under a new rail bridge, and trains pass above while traffic flows below. FRA makes award decisions; data strengthens an application but does not guarantee funding.

Download (MP4, 7 MB)Illustrative sequence with sample data. FRA makes award decisions; verified data strengthens an application but doesn’t guarantee funding.

Where things stand

Preparing for the next funding round

Both 2026 rounds have closed. A competitive record takes months to build, so cities that start now will be ready when the next window opens.

RCE · FY2025–26

$1.15B

Crossing-elimination round closed June 8, 2026. Awards pending.

Congress · now

Dec 11

Current programs run through December 11, 2026 while a long-term bill is negotiated.

House bill · FY2027–31

$3.66B

Proposed for crossing elimination in the BUILD America 250 Act (committee-approved, not yet law).

Sources: FRA · Construction Dive · CRS R48881

Delay-cost estimator

Estimate the delay cost at a crossing

A quick screening estimate of yearly travel-time losses at one crossing, using USDOT's value of time. Pick a Norman crossing or set your own.

Crossing

Vehicles per day 16,000

Trains per day 21

Minutes the gates are down per train 5 min

Method: vehicles arriving while gates are down wait half the closure on average. Value of time: USDOT all-purpose $21.10 per person-hour (2023 dollars) × 1.52 occupants. Norman presets use FRA inventory traffic counts and train volumes. A screening estimate, not a full benefit-cost analysis.

Estimated yearly delay cost

Gates down per day0 min

Vehicles stopped per day0

Vehicle-hours lost per year0

Cities that won

Cities that won federal crossing money

Every one of these cities documented a crossing problem and turned it into federal money. Open any of them in the city lookup.

City	Program	Award	What it fixes
Pelham, AL	FY2022 RCE	$41,766,038	Bridge over two CSX crossings; responders were cut off when CR 52 was blocked. ↗
Chicago region, IL	FY2023–24 RCE	$43,125,000	CREATE grade separation GS1 (Belt Railway). ↗
Houston, TX	FY2022 RCE	$36,916,200	Four East End underpasses; trains stop 5–10 times a day. ↗
Davis, OK	FY2023–24 RCE	$25,448,000	New siding, two closures, three upgraded crossings. ↗
Fort Worth, TX	FY2022 RCE	$17,187,552	Bonds Ranch Rd overpass near the Alliance intermodal hub. ↗
Hammond, IN	FY2022 RCE	$7,029,392	Governors Pkwy overpass; students had been crawling under trains. ↗
San Antonio, TX	FY2022 RCE	$4,886,512	Rittiman Rd grade separation. ↗
Laredo, TX	FY2022 CRISI	$4,000,000	Downtown rail corridor plan at the busiest U.S. trade port. ↗
Norman, OK	2026 planning	$1,440,000	Tecumseh Rd grade separation planning. ↗
Edmond–OKC–Norman	FY2024 RCE	$400,000	Study ranking 52 corridor crossings for fixes. ↗

Award amounts are federal shares as announced. RCE = FRA Railroad Crossing Elimination Program; CRISI = Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements.

Build your record now.

Start collecting data before the next notice of funding is published.

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