USA: The Colton Crossing grade separation project to build a fly-over to eliminate a flat crossing between east-west Union Pacific and north-south BNSF lines in the city of Colton, California, was officially launched with a ceremony on November 8.
The flat crossing was the scene of a 'frog war' in 1882-83, and is now one of the busiest in the USA, with more than 110 trains a day, including Amtrak and Metrolink services. It causes delays to traffic from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and leads to enforced locomotive idling.
Skanska will build a flyover to raise the UP tracks by more than 9 m. The $202m cost is being met by a combination of UP, BNSF, state and federal funding sources, with completion scheduled for early 2014.l
