Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program - USDOT FRA

The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) launched the Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program to fund projects that improve safety around level crossings. This $1.1 billion grant program aims to create grade separation through tunnels or bridges over railways, close crossings, relocate track, protect or improve protection at existing crossings, and plan works involving the crossings. Since opening for applications in September of 2024, 123 projects have been accepted, covering over 1,000 crossings.

These goals are very similar to those of the Dutch National Level Crossings Improvement Program (LVO) started in 2014 to improve safety and traffic flow at crossings, and the NABO program, launched in 2018, aimed at eliminating all passively protected level crossings in the country. While the funding mechanisms for these projects are slightly different—where the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management funds up to 50% of the project, the US FRA fund up to 80%—the outcomes are the same.