Washougal to get $40M for underpass at railroad crossing

One weekday afternoon, Washougal City Manager David Scott was driving south on 32nd Street in Washougal, about to merge onto state Highway 14, when he was stopped by the familiar flashing lights, ringing bells and rumblings of a train approaching.

Although it took two minutes for the train to pass by, cars were backed up onto Highway 14 by the time traffic could proceed. It doesn’t happen every time a train passes by, but the sight is not uncommon, Scott said. On average, 45 trains pass by a day.

The intersection has a crash history and prevents emergency vehicles from getting through when a train is traveling by. To streamline traffic and increase safety, the city plans to build an underpass below the railroad line.

The project has an estimated cost of $50 million — $40 million of which will be covered by the federal government as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program — it was announced Wednesday.

Scott said that inflation has likely increased the cost since the last estimate in October, and the project will likely take three to 4½ years to complete. In addition to the federal money, Washington has allotted nearly $7 million, and local officials have pledged up to $4.82 million, according to the Camas-Washougal Post-Record.