This Metrolink Crossing Is The Bomb: Proximity To Propane Company Prompts $6M Upgrade
Metrolink's riskiest crossing is getting a $6 million upgrade after the Glendale locale on Doran Street ranked number one out of 312 locations for risk and in the top eight for accidents, reports NBC Local.
The adjacent propane company, a "heavy flow of tanker trucks," and vehicles that stop illegally on the tracks give that Metrolink crossing, with about 90 high speed trains travelling through per day, the potential for a highly explosive situation, notes the Glendale News-Press. In January alone, railroad authorities and Glendale police cited two pedestrians for walking in the railroad right-of-way and 28 motorists for stopping in the crossing.
"If one of those propane trucks gets stuck," said Sherita Coffelt, a Metrolink spokeswoman, "you'll have a bomb sitting there."The commuter railroad, which has more than 500 miles of track and serves six Southern California counties, will pay for the improvements with money earmarked last week by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board.
Improvements will include better signals, new crossing gates, an enlarged intersection, a wider turning radius for trucks.
