California's Most Dangerous Train Crossing Shut Down

An NBC4 I-Team investigation found that California leads the nation in fatal crashes at train crossings.

The most dangerous train crossing in California is going to be shutdown Saturday, to eventually make it safer.

An NBC4 I-Team investigation last summer identified the crossing, east of LA, as the one where accidents are most likely to happen.

Some 52 trains and 40,000 cars a day pass over this train crossing on Nogales Street in Rowland Heights.

There's been an average of one crash a year at the crossing the last 10 years, data shows.

Starting Saturday, the crossing will be closed, so crews can begin building an underpass. It is expected to be closed for two years.

All six lanes of traffic will be closed at the crossing starting Saturday.

Now, the man in charge of transportation safety for the country wants to see more projects like this, to improve safety, at dangerous crossings exposed by the I-Team.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx surveyed the intersection.

“Many times they're preventable,” he said of crashes.

The I-Team in August examined federal safety data, and discovered the train crossings where accidents are most likely to happen.

The one at Nogales Street is so congested that cars stop on the tracks.

Sometimes they get ticketed. About once a year, a vehicle gets hit by a train. Driving over the crossing scares motorists such as Rebecca Martinez.

"The concern is you could get hit easily," she said.

There are dozens more dangerous crossings in the state that officials say need traffic diversions. So President Obama is asking Congress to say yes to a $10 billion highway bill, part of which will pay to make train crossings safer.

Foxx said there was no question the money would improve safety.

Contact Us