Millwood wins grant for warning devices at Marguerite Street rail crossing

The city of Millwood won a $300,000 grant to install active warning devices at the Marguerite Street rail crossing.

The money was part of $1.5 million in rail safety grant funds awarded Monday by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. The Grade Crossing Protective Fund grants will go toward improvements at crossings along crude oil routes, pedestrian and motorists safety improvements, and upgrades to signals to reduce injuries and fatalities at rail crossings.

Millwood was the only eastern Washington community to get grant funding. Some central Washington cities received funding, including Yakima, Tonasket and Granger.

The money comes from a program created by the Legislature in 1969 to reduce collisions and deaths at public and private crossings and along railroad tracks.