Schumer Vows Federal Aid to Make Metro-North Grade Crossings Safer
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged Friday to deliver more than $100 million to make dangerous Metro-North grade crossings safer for drivers, including money for a vehicular overpass for Roaring Brook Road in Chappaqua.
Schumer said he has already secured $4.4 million to upgrade five crossings in Putnam and Dutchess counties, including the one at Manitou Station Road in Philipstown where he made the announcement. The money is from the $9 billion in federal rail safety funding in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
He said he is also pressing for another $67 million for the overpass over the Metro-North tracks at Roaring Brook Road and additional funds for various upgrades at other crossings from the $3 billion earmarked in the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program. That would include the crossing at Commerce Street in Valhalla, the site of the deadliest accident in Metro-North history in February 2015 when five train passengers and the driver of an SUV were killed.
Additionally, Schumer is pushing for another $45 million for the installation of positive train control technology, which automatically slows trains down if there is a nearby emergency of if there’s an obstacle on the tracks.
“We need to make sure that Hudson Valley commuters aren’t passed over,” Schumer said. “Since I’ve been majority leader the funding’s finally there and with my clout behind the applications, let’s go full steam ahead and get the Hudson Valley rail safety program back on track.”
While unable to provide specific timetables, the senator said the upgrades to the five crossings in Putnam and Dutchess will be done soon since the money has already been set aside.
Schumer credited Putnam County Legislator Nancy Montgomery (D-Philipstown) for continually sounding the alarm for a safer Metro-North in her county. Montgomery, whose husband was one of four people killed in the Metro-North accident at Spuyten Duyvil in December 2013, called Schumer’s commitment “a wonderful Christmas present to the people that I represent.”
“We’re grateful to our Putnam representatives at the MTA who really got on the MTA board for this purpose, to make our trains safer,” she said.
In total, there are nine crossings in both Westchester and Putnam counties that have been deemed dangerous, said Neal Zuckerman, the Putnam representative on the MTA Board. The grade crossing in Peekskill, for example, has been graded with a 1.6 chance out of 1,000 for an accident, an unusually dangerous location, he said.
Town of New Castle officials were pleased to hear that Schumer has thrown his support behind securing funds for an overpass over the tracks at Roaring Brook Road. The grade crossing is a short distance from the Saw Mill Parkway and less than a half-mile from Horace Greeley High School and Chappaqua Crossing, where construction of 91 townhomes will soon be completed. More than 60 apartments and retail shops have been open for several years at Chappaqua Crossing.
The area has seen more than 850 accidents in the past 15 years, Schumer said.
New Castle Town Administrator Jill Shapiro, who attended the senator’s press conference with Police Chief James Carroll, said the Town Board has recognized for years the urgency of addressing the dangers on Roaring Brook Road.
“This means that one of the busiest commuter rail lines in the country and hundreds of vehicles driven by our newest drivers cross paths every day,” Shapiro said. “But our town can’t resolve this issue on our own. We need partnerships with agencies and government officials as we see here today, municipalities standing alongside railroad workers, MTA board members, county representatives and led by our federal government, working together to permanently eliminate unacceptable safety situations.”
Supervisor Lisa Katz, who was unable to attend the press conference, said later Friday that having the support in Washington for a remedy to the dangerous condition on Roaring Brook Road, both at the railroad crossing and at the Saw Mill Parkway helps everyone who travels in that area.
“I just think it is so phenomenal that this is even a possibility,” Katz said. “I’m thrilled.”
Zuckerman said there are 364 grade crossings on MTA property, with 295 of those on Long Island and the remaining ones in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
