On Tuesday afternoon, TxDOT was awarded $17 million for a project to alleviate headaches for drivers in a Fort Worth traffic hot spot.
In a partnership with the City of Fort Worth and BNSF Railway, the TxDOT project will build a railroad crossing over Bonds Ranch Road near the US 81 and US 287 interchanges.
Gabrielle Burgess is a resident of Tarrant County.
“I moved to Saginaw about a year and a half ago. It's expanding,” Burgess said.
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She frequently loses time waiting in the constant train traffic.
“It's always coming. I want to say maybe every hour or so,” Burgess said. “It's just a lot of traffic. It's making me late for wherever I have to go."
Currently, Bods Ranch Road is a rural two-lane road that has an at-grade rail crossing. The standstill traffic, according to Fort Worth city officials, is partly due to the spike in population.
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“District 7 has seen a tremendous amount of growth," Macy Hill, Councilwoman for District 7 said. "People are coming in and developers are developing not just residential, but commercial areas as well. And Fort Worth has not had the infrastructure in place to keep up with the growth. And that's been a major issue for all of our residents across the city."
Hill said she understands the issue her constituents and those commuting through the area face.
"I've sat and waited for the train to pass," Hill said. "It affects their everyday lives, everything from going to the grocery store, taking their kids to school, and for the public safety issue as well with the police and fire."
However, the backup is also due to high train volume.
According to TxDOT's project summary, the Bonds Ranch Road crossing, "is blocked multiple times per day due to high train volume and rail operations in the nearby BNSF Alliance Intermodal Facility and faced with closures due to flooding during heavy rain events."
The proposed project, which is projected to cost nearly $23 million, would go over Bonds Ranch Road to prevent crashes and alleviate traffic. The Federal Railroad Administration reports 2,000 collisions and 200 casualties happen each year at railroad grade crossings.
“The grade separation will mean there is no possibility of collision between trains and vehicles and no waiting for a train to pass,” Amit Bose said. Bose is the Administrator for the FRA.
The FRA awarded a total of $17 million to TxDOT for the Bonds Ranch Road Grade Separation Project which includes an ADA-accessible sidewalk for pedestrians and cyclists.
“That means safer travel for growing communities along the Haslet, Fort Worth corridor, lots of time back in people's lives, no delays to get to school, faster response times for emergency services, and a higher quality of life,” Bose said.
TxDOT estimates construction would begin in 2026 with the Bonds Ranch Road grade separation to be in use in 2028.
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