A $1 million federal grant will help Wauwatosa staff determine how to turn a steep, city-owned railroad crossing near Highway 100 into a through street underneath the rail line with bike and pedestrian access in the coming years.
The city will receive the funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration in order to conduct a preliminary engineering study on how to improve the crossing at Walnut Road, including plans to eliminate the at-grade crossing to divert vehicles from crossing in any train’s path, according to a news release from the city.
If built, the extension of Walnut Road under the railroad would make the crossing safer and more accessible to those who drive to and from the post office, Pick n’ Save or other businesses east of the railroad, Wauwatosa Senior Civil Engineer Michael May told the Journal Sentinel.
A through street under the railroad would bring about 3,200 vehicles per day to Walnut Road and save travelers approximately 1.4 miles in travel, no longer diverting drivers to North Avenue or Watertown Plank Road to access the west, according to the release.
The new crossing would also cut down response times for members of the Wauwatosa Police Department, which is located west of the railroad, May said.
Although the current stretch of West Walnut Road isn’t a through public street, it’s frequently used by residents and city workers to access the Department of Public Works, the municipal recycling center and as a shortcut from Highway 100 to the west, according to the release.
A FedEx truck crashed into the West Walnut Road crossing in Wauwatosa in April 2023. The City of Wauwatosa has received a $1 million federal grant to study improving the crossing.
Since 1988, five vehicle-train crashes have occurred at the crossing, according to the release. The first crash was fatal while the latest, in 2023, crushed a FedEx truck but miraculously left its driver unscathed, May said.
Five crashes in more than three decades may seem low, but it’s high compared to the average number of crashes at similar stop sign-controlled crossings in the state of Wisconsin, May said.
The grant funding will go into effect in January 2026 and last through December 2026.
That year will give Wauwatosa, the railroad company and the Department of Transportation time to identify any utility or environmental issues at the site, as well as determine a cost and timeline for construction, May said.
Bridget Fogarty covers Brookfield, Wauwatosa and Elm Grove for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be contacted at bfogarty@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wauwatosa will get $1M in federal funds to make rail crossing safer