Grade Separations
San
Bernardino Associated Governments was awarded $95 million through the
state-funded Traffic Congestion
Relief Program in July 2000 to separate heavily traveled roads from
railroad freight traffic throughout San Bernardino County.
Grade separations involve the division of vehicle traffic and railroad traffic by building bridges over or under the railroad tracks, or rerouting the train tracks over or under existing streets.
In 2001, SANBAG completed a study of the length of time motorists have to wait at railroad crossings and established a list of the longest delay times experienced currently and projected in the year 2020. From that list, the SANBAG Board of Directors established priorities for funding grade separations from this $95 million allocation.
Five of these high priority projects were selected from the list:
- Ramona Avenue in Montclair
- Milliken Avenue in Ontario
- State Street/University
Parkway project in San Bernardino
(City and County) - Monte Vista Avenue in Montclair
- Hunts Lane project in San Bernardino and Colton
- New: Colton Crossing
Note:
Due to California’s budget crisis, the Traffic Congestion Relief Program was suspended. Construction plans for grade separation projects and other transportation projects have been placed on hold. Should funding be restored, work could resume on these projects.
In June 2002, the SANBAG Board of Directors approved $6.2 million in design funds for three additional high priority grade separations in Colton, San Bernardino and the Barstow area. This allocation was intended for design only. However, due to the state budget deficit, design work for these projects has been discontinued.