MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – The city soon will begin a project aimed at increasing access to the water and improving safety near railroad tracks.
The Mobile City Council voted Tuesday to use about $1 million from a capital fund to pay for an improved railroad crossing on Shipyard Road that will include a crossing arm. The aim is to make it safer to get to a boat and kayak launch that the city plans to build with $2 million in state funds that come from oil and gas lease revenue.
The railroad crossing is important, Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis said, because the area has seen a number of train-car collisions since the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service began last year. The mayor said drivers are used to slower-moving freight trains…