LIRR secures $7.5M federal grant toward removing 3 grade crossings on Ronkonkoma line

The Long Island Rail Road has secured a $7.5 million federal grant to advance the elimination of three grade crossings on its Ronkonkoma Line, officials said Tuesday.

The $7,461,000 U.S. Department of Transportation grant will go toward planning and design work for projects to get rid of the Wicks Road/Fifth Avenue grade crossing in Brentwood, the Straight Path crossing in Wyandanch and the Lowell Avenue crossing in Central Islip.

"Eliminating these three grade crossings would provide more reliable service for our riders while helping residents get around their community more easily and safely, with less traffic and noise," LIRR president Rob Free said. "It’s a win for everyone."

The three new grade crossing elimination projects join two others already being planned at Ocean Avenue and Pond Road in Ronkonkoma.

Grade crossings — where roads and railroad tracks intersect — can be particularly dangerous, and cause significant traffic congestion when safety gates are lowered. More than 63,000 vehicles drive through the three crossings each day, according to the LIRR.

The three crossings targeted for elimination are among the 10 in Suffolk most likely to be the site of crashes, according to the Federal Railroad Administration’s Accident Prediction System.

The Fifth Avenue crossing in Brentwood is ranked number one, having been the site of two crashes last year and handling more than 35,000 vehicles per day. Straight Path is ranked third, and Lowell Avenue is ninth.

Debra Cavanagh, president of the Central Islip Coalition of Good Neighbors, has pushed for years for the elimination of the LIRR grade crossing on Carleton Avenue, which she said is particularly problematic because it is the main artery used by the local fire department and other emergency responders. She was disappointed to learn the crossing was not among those planned for elimination, but pleased over news about the Lowell Avenue crossing.

"One is better than none," Cavanagh said. "That will alleviate some traffic."

Until recently, such projects were relatively rare on Long Island, which has 282 crossings. The railroad eliminated eight grade crossings in Nassau between 2019 and 2021 as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s construction of a 10-mile long Third Track on the LIRR’s Main Line. In the 20 years before the Third Track project, the LIRR took out just two crossings, both in Mineola.

LIRR officials have not released timelines or price tags for the new projects, but have previously estimated grade crossing eliminations at $100 million each.

With the Third Track effort, the MTA pioneered a new method for eliminating crossings  — excavating below the LIRR’s tracks and then using hydraulic jacks to insert a pre-cast concrete underpass. The work can be carried out over a weekend.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.