Safety upgrades have been approved for three railroad crossings in Warsaw and the Indiana Department of Transportation and Norfolk-Southern are footing the bill.

Just under $1 million have been appropriated for the improvements, which will include the addition of crossing gates at the Market Street, Winona Avenue and Pope Street crossings. Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer made the announcement at today’s meeting of the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety.

INDOT has appropriated the monies from the Section 130 Program which is used specifically for railroad safety upgrades at problematic crossings. No local match is required for the upgrades to take place.

The crossings at Market Street, Winona Avenue and Pope Street currently are marked with only lights. It is anticipated that the crossing will be re-engineered with gates. Engineering is slated to begin during this 2014 fiscal year and the upgrades, according to Thallemer, will begin sometime after July 1, 2014.