LA CROSSE, Wis. (WEAU) – The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is sharing updates on their work to make railroad crossings safer in La Crosse.
For project manager Kris Sommers and his crew, this is their second time visiting La Crosse to discuss the project.
“We came to the city of La Crosse in December, and we presented a broader array of alternatives, including things like crossing closures and additional gates. We even proposed some different traffic scenarios. We received some feedback in December and we process that. We’ve narrowed it down to a few alternatives that we’re presenting today,” says Sommers.
According to Sommers, the intersections at Hagar and Avon Streets, as well as St. Cloud and Liberty Streets have had a dangerous history.
“The two intersections that we’re talking about do have a long standing history of unfortunately fatalities and crashes,” says Sommers.
He hopes their proposed alternatives can provide extra safety for bikers and pedestrians.
“What we want to try to do in the solutions that we’re presenting is square up those crossings as much as possible for the pedestrians and bikers and provide enhanced safety. Perhaps lights and attention grabbing things like that for the folks to be aware of the dangers there,” says Sommers.
Now, Sommers’ team will be considering input from the public before finalizing their plan.
“We’re going to take the feedback that we received. We’re going to develop our preferred alternative. Very importantly, there’s an entity in the state of Wisconsin called the Office of Commissioner of Railroads who has the ultimate decision making authority on the warning to the railroad warning devices,” says Sommers.
Sommers adds they will petition the Office of Commissioner of Railroads to make changes at the two railroad crossings.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation says they are looking to begin construction on the intersections by 2026.
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