$1.5 Million Allocated to Design a Railroad Grade Separation at Fifth St. & Rice Ave., Oxnard, California
In April 2015, I published an article
regarding the March 24, 2015 Metrolink collision in Oxnard,
California. That predawn collision injured thirty-three passengers and
took the life of Metrolink Senior Engineer Glenn Steele. With its daily traffic count of 35,000 vehicles, the Fifth Street and Rice Avenue (Fifth & Rice) grade crossing already ranked as the deadliest in Ventura County.
During my April 2015 visit to the site, I noted that the southbound
Rice Ave. approach to the crossing remained as derelict as it was prior
to the collision.
Since then, I have published a series of rail-safety articles,
each of which mentioned specific unsafe conditions at Fifth &
Rice. To be fair, Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) completed minor repairs
to the traffic warning system and rebuilt a fence destroyed by the Metrolink cabcar
during the collision. Now, thirteen months after the latest deadly
collision at Fifth & Rice, the busy rail crossing still looks much
as it has for decades.
In
past articles, I have called out the UPRR, the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Department of
Transportation (Caltrans), Rail Corridor Agency LOSSAN, Metrolink, the City of Oxnard and the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC)
for their sluggish response to the ongoing dangers at Fifth &
Rice. Simple upgrades, such as repaving the Rice Ave. southbound
approach, restriping its safety lines and adding additional pylons and
street-level reflectors have not happened. Inexpensive changes of this
type could militate against an accidental turn on to the UPRR tracks.
It was just such a wrong turn that led to the 2015 Oxnard Metrolink
collision.
According to evidence at the scene, all of the agencies listed in the
previous paragraph dithered, delayed or ignored short-term fixes of the
obvious deficiencies at Fifth & Rice. Meanwhile, one person made
it her mission to help solve both the short-term and long-term safety
issues existing there. That person is Congresswoman Julia Brownley
(D-Westlake Village). Soon after the February 2015 Oxnard Metrolink
collision, Brownley stepped up her communications with several
agencies, including Caltrans, the CPUC and the Federal Railroad
Administration.
In a March 2, 2015 letter to Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty and CPUC President Michael Picker,
Brownley implored both agencies to free up some of the unallocated $42
million in federal safety grants then languishing within those
agencies. On April 30, 2015, Dougherty wrote a letter
to the Brownley, indicating that none of the rail grade crossings in
Ventura County ranked high enough on the “priority diagnostic list” to
warrant funding at this time.
In defense of CPUC actions, Dougherty sited $7.4 million in funds
allocated to Ventura County in 2015. As the lead agency in the Sealed
Corridor Project, Metrolink utilized those funds to upgrade warning and
safety systems at three grade crossings in Simi Valley and another in
Moorpark. Why Fifth & Rice, the busiest and deadliest commercial
grade crossing in Ventura County received no mention or funding is a
mystery of bureaucratic communications and cooperation.
In his April 30, 2015 letter to Brownley, Dougherty made the following statement: “The
at-grade crossing at issue, on Rice Avenue in Oxnard, is equipped with
median islands, quad gates, flashing lights, audible warning bells,
and an interconnected traffic signal
in addition to the required pavement markings and advance warning
signage. Further improvements could be a grade separation. We will work
with Ventura County to consider the State of California’s Section 190 Program as a possible funding source for this solution.”
Technically, everything that Dougherty wrote at that time is defensibly
correct, but the actual conditions at that intersection are nowhere
near as safe as state officials would have us believe. Here are my
rebuttals, point by point:
“Median islands, quad gates, flashing lights, audible warning bells” – At the time of Dougherty’s letter, the support structure for the overhead warning lights, known as a crossbuck showed evidence of damage
from an earlier traffic collision. Only after I published photos
showing the perilous condition of the overhead safety equipment did the
UPRR replace the entire unit.
“An interconnected traffic signal” – When a
train approaches the crossing, the traffic signals on Rice Ave. turn
red. The left turn signal from Fifth St. East to Rice Ave. North also
turns red. When a train is present, those signals keep traffic
northbound on Rice Ave. from crossing the tracks. Normally, the traffic
signals approaching the tracks northbound work as intended.
“Interconnected traffic signal (cont.)”
– Southbound on Rice Ave, the traffic signals do not provide adequate
safety for vehicles stopping at Fifth St. The distance from the
crosswalk at Fifth St. to the railroad tracks is less than fifty feet.
As the major truck route to Naval Base Ventura County and the Port of Hueneme,
hundreds of big rigs travel south on Rice Ave. every day.
Inexperienced or unknowledgeable truck drivers often pull across the
tracks and stop at the intersection, waiting there for a green light.
While waiting there, the rear portion of a fifty-three foot long trailer overhangs the railroad tracks.
If cross traffic prevented an idling tractor-trailer from moving
forward in time, an approaching train could easily strike the trailer.
“Required pavement markings and advance warning signage” – On the southbound Rice Ave. approach, the pavement is cracked, rutted and generally worn out. Likewise, the pavement markings appear worn, cracked and faded. On approach to the tracks, there are no road reflectors of any kind,
thus making a nighttime approach a disorienting experience for drivers
unfamiliar with the intersection. Within a few yards of the tracks,
there are two small signs reading, “Do Not Stop on Tracks”. Other than
the crossbuck and the faded roadway markings, those two small signs are
the only visual warnings for big rig drivers. The overhead crossbuck
should include a lighted, flashing sign reading, “Big Rigs Stop Here on
Red Signal”.
The
cause of the February 2015 Oxnard Metrolink collision is not in
dispute. Mr. Jose Sanchez-Ramirez mistook the railroad right-of-way for
Fifth St. After making an errant right turn, Sanchez-Ramirez drove his
work truck and utility trailer on to the railroad tracks. Eighty feet
west of Rice Ave., his rig came to rest. Soon thereafter, Metrolink Train Number 102
struck the disabled truck, derailing all of the cars in the train,
injuring thirty-three and ultimately causing the death of Senior
Engineer Glenn Steele.
With the prevalence of faded or nonexistent roadway safety markings, it
is easy to see how Sanchez-Ramirez made that mistake. Almost one year
later, an unnamed agency installed one small reflective pylon near the
curb, on either side of the tracks. Although intended to warn drivers
not to turn on the tracks, the two pylons now appear to be the entrance
to a small roadway, thus creating the opposite of the intended effect.
To avoid continued confusion, especially at night, the responsible
agency should immediately install multiple reflective pylons and a
string of road reflectors spanning the railroad right of way.
In December 2015, President Obama signed a $305 billion highway bill,
intended to keep our highway infrastructure from deteriorating even
further. Within that bill was an allocation of $1.5 million designated
for the initial design of a grade separation and highway overpass at
Rice Ave. and Fifth St., in Oxnard, California. When no one else could,
or would do anything substantial to solve the problems associated with
that deadly grade crossing, Rep. Julia Brownley stepped up and secured
that funding. In doing so, she created the first step toward ending the
serial disaster that is the grade crossing at Fifth & Rice.
On March 29, 2016, politicians, bureaucrats and the press gathered at the Oxnard Transit Center to celebrate the $1.5 million federal grant.
As several Amtrak trains whizzed by just a few yards away,
representatives from the Federal Railroad Administration, Caltrans, the
Ventura County Transportation Commission, the City of Oxnard and
Metrolink all spoke about the need for safety improvements at Fifth
& Rice. With no half-cent sales tax levy in Ventura County
focused on transportation projects, none of the speakers mentioned that
it might take ten years to secure funding for the $42 million grade
separation and overpass. Still, the conclave and its message amounted
to a small step in the right direction.
After
the close of the public ceremony in Oxnard, I once again visited the
dangerous intersection at Fifth St. and Rice Ave. With news cameras from
several Los Angeles TV outlets
rolling, a Metrolink official and I watched typical midday traffic at
the grade crossing. In less than thirty minutes, a local freight train
traveled north and an Amtrak train traveled south along the tracks. In
the interval between the two trains, at least one big rig stopped for
the southbound signal at Rice Ave. For more than one minute, its trailer
blocked the tracks.
Moments later, as the Metrolink representative and I looked on, a late
model Camaro approached the tracks southbound on Rice Ave. As the
traffic signal changed to amber, the driver sped up to perhaps
fifty-five miles per hour. After the Camaro crossed the tracks, it
briefly went airborne, and then landed hard in the middle of Fifth St.
From there, it continued at high speed. In my mind, I pictured that
driver seeing flashing red lights at that grade crossing. Would he have
skidded to a stop or tried to drive under the safety gates as they
descended? In 2009, motorist Joel Anthony Arias,
20, tried to beat a train to the same crossing. Both he and his
passenger died in a high-speed collision with an Amtrak train.
Several
days after the ceremony, Julia Brownley continued her efforts to seek
interim solutions to the safety problems at Fifth & Rice. In a
letter to one of the passengers injured in the 2015 Oxnard Metrolink collision, Brownley’s staff members wrote; “Ms.
Brownley has visited the site, and has been trying to get the state to
address the marking issue. In fact, she spoke to CPUC President Picker
about the need to improve the markings. At Ms. Brownley’s urging, CPUC
sent a team to inspect the crossing. Ms. Brownley requested that our
District Director accompany them during the inspection. Our District
Director pointed out the deficiencies in the markings, and showed them
pictures of other crossings that had new, more visible, reflective
markings. We also provided those photos to President Picker. The CPUC
team is preparing a report based on that inspection, and we have
requested a copy.”
Now,
over one year after the death of Senior Engineer Glenn Steele and the
injury of dozens more, we begin to see some small steps toward
increasing public safety at the deadliest grade crossing in Ventura
California. When no one else could or would address rail safety at the
street level, Brownley and her staff persisted in their advocacy and
actions. On behalf of all who must cross the tracks at Fifth &
Rice, I offer special thanks to Congresswoman Julia Brownley and her
dedicated staff.
By James McGillis at 03:26 PM | Railroad Safety | Comments (0) | Link
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