New funds are pouring into Palouse’s railroad crossing on west Spokane Street to improve its safety.
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission approved about $20,000 from the Grade Crossing Protective Fund to Washington & Idaho Railway, Inc (WIR). to improve the crossing’s overall safety.
No accidents have ever been reported at the crossing. The new upgrades take a proactive approach to safety - replacing the mainline track circuits with a motion sensing unit, upgrading the lighting and battery charger to a newer version with replaced batteries.
The upgrades must by completed by September 30th of next year. State funding is only limited to $19,996 of the project. Labor cost will be covered by WIR.