The Federal Railroad Administration released a list of crossings with the most car-train collisions in the past 10 years.
WASHINGTON -- The Elmwood Park railroad crossing where the state spent $800,000 for improvements was the sixth most dangerous location in the U.S. over the past decade, according to Federal Railroad Administration statistics.
The FRA reported 14 collisions between trains and vehicles there over the past 10 years, including one fatality and four injuries. Only five other locations, four in the Phoenix area and one in Ashdown, Ark., had a greater number of incidents.
"Knowing where repeat injuries and fatalities occur helps states focus their time and resources on areas where they can have an impact," U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.
Safety upgrades unveiled at deadly crossing
Of the more than 200,000 railroad crossings in the U.S., only 15 locations had 10 or more incidents in the past 10 years, FRA data show. The Elmwood Park crossing, where Midland Avenue intersects at a sharp angle with NJ Transit tracks, is the only one in the Northeast.
"This proves what we've said: this crossing is deadly, and the upgrades we've made here could save lives," said U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-9th Dist.) "We need funding for better design and engineering, as well as public education, to ensure all our grade crossings are safer."
The $800,000 project, including $300,000 in federal funds, involved connecting the crossing lights to nearby traffic lights to avoid traffic backing up on the tracks, and a new yellow surface treatment to keep drivers a safe distance away when the gates go down.
The FRA has provided millions of dollars in grants to improve railroad crossings and has worked with local law enforcement agencies to keep cars from driving across the tracks when there are dangers of trains approaching.
FRA Administrator Sarah Feinberg also has urged state officials to join railroads on inspections of the crossing lights and gates.
"I know that, together, we can do more to save lives," Feinberg told states in a letter in February.
Efforts to reduce fatalities at crossings have had an impact. The number of deaths declined to 244 in 2015 from 264 in 2014.
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.