“Our hope is to address the areas of crazy congestion in Southeast Michigan first and then be able to help across the state because there are thousands of train crossings with roads,” said state Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Trenton, one of the bill sponsors. “We need to prioritize those that we know are causing significant delay.” Freeing up those crossings could also lead to more economic development in southern Wayne County where Camilleri said companies have cited train-related congestion as a reason not to locate there. . . . While much of the focus has been on metro Detroit and, specifically, Downriver, Camilleri believes work may start to accelerate across Michigan with the creation of the statewide fund and more attention brought to the issue. This is a problem years in the making and will take years to fix. But prioritizing existing funds to create a program that helps local communities address congested rail crossings is a good place to start.
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