Fairfield Secures $40M to Remove At-Grade Crossings From 4.5 Miles of Track

UNITED STATES: Fairfield’s $40 million federal award advances a preferred design that would carry Symmes Road over CSX’s Cincinnati Terminal Subdivision and permanently close North Gilmore Road, creating more than 4.5 miles of track without at-grade road crossings immediately north of Cincinnati’s Queensgate Yard.

The funding is the biggest step yet for a project that began with planning money rather than construction support. The Federal Railroad Administration awarded the Butler County Transportation Improvement District up to $3 million in 2023 for planning and project development at the two crossings. By early 2026, the project team had selected Alternative 4, the Veteran Drive Alignment, for Symmes Road and paired it with closure of North Gilmore Road.

Fairfield’s February 2026 council material showed the Federal-State Partnership application seeking $40 million in federal funding with a proposed $10 million non-federal share from the Ohio Rail Development Commission, BCTID and CSX Transportation. The August 13 announcement says Fairfield has now secured the $40 million federal amount.

The project has moved beyond its $3 million planning grant

The earlier FRA award was explicitly for planning and project development. It was intended to advance the Symmes Road grade separation while studying whether North Gilmore Road could be closed.

That work changed the project from a broad crossing-elimination concept into a defined scheme. The current project site says Alternative 4 was selected as the preferred Symmes Road design in early 2026, with North Gilmore Road also to be closed. Its pre-award schedule section described detailed design, utility relocation and right-of-way work as current activities and said construction remained dependent on funding and other factors.

The $40 million award therefore marks a clear funding state change, but it should not be read as a construction start. The announcement does not identify a construction contract, notice to proceed or revised completion date.

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Preferred design sends Symmes Road over the tracks and closes North Gilmore

Alternative 4 would realign Symmes Road south through Hicks Boulevard and east along Veteran Drive before carrying the road over the CSX tracks on a new bridge slightly south of the existing crossing. The preferred alternative is approximately 1.05 miles long.

North Gilmore Road would be handled differently: the road would be closed on both sides of the railroad, with a cul-de-sac on the north side and the southern approach realigned into Busway Lane. That distinction matters because the project is not proposing two new bridges. It combines one grade separation with one permanent crossing closure.

The safety case remains substantial alongside the rail-operating case. Fairfield’s project material cites FRA inventory data showing 16 crashes, eight fatalities and nine injuries across the two crossings.

Why two crossing changes matter to rail operations

The project’s railway value comes from what happens beyond the two road locations. Fairfield says the combined Symmes Road overpass and North Gilmore closure would provide more than 4.5 miles of track without at-grade crossing interference immediately north of Queensgate Yard.

Train volumes have also been consistently described as high. FRA’s 2023 planning award cited more than 40 trains per day, while Ohio Rail Development Commission meeting records put the figure at roughly 45 to 50 trains per day. Husted’s August announcement describes the corridor as carrying nearly 50 trains daily and identifies CSX, Norfolk Southern and Amtrak as users.

The original planning application gives one concrete operating mechanism: it says closing North Gilmore Road would provide additional queuing space for stopped trains. The same application says the 4.5-mile section would be uninterrupted by at-grade crossings immediately north of Queensgate Yard.

What the evidence does not establish is just as important. No verified project document reviewed for this article publishes a quantified increase in rail capacity, higher train speeds, additional train paths or a specific reduction in train delay. The supported railway payoff is removal of at-grade crossing interference and additional operating space, not a measured capacity gain.

Amtrak’s Cardinal explains the passenger-rail funding route

The use of a passenger-rail grant program is not incidental. Ohio Rail Development Commission records say Symmes Road was moved forward for the Federal-State Partnership program because of its project readiness and location on an existing Amtrak route.

FRA’s FY2024-2025 program notice explicitly lists grade-crossing projects on passenger rail routes among the safety projects the Federal-State Partnership program can fund. The notice also requires shared-corridor applicants to show how a project benefits intercity passenger rail when freight or commuter traffic uses the same infrastructure.

The route here is Amtrak’s Cardinal. Amtrak’s current timetable lists Cincinnati as a stop and shows the Cardinal operating three days a week in each direction. The project therefore sits on an active intercity passenger route as well as a freight corridor.

A 2031 construction timeline remains the latest public marker

The latest specific construction timeline found in official project records predates the new federal award. Ohio Rail Development Commission minutes record Fairfield Public Works Director Ben Mann saying the construction timeline was 2031 when the commission approved the project for submission to the Federal-State Partnership program.

The August 13 funding announcement does not publish a replacement start or completion date. Until a revised schedule, contract award or notice to proceed is issued, the $40 million should be treated as a major funding milestone for a defined project—not evidence that physical construction has begun.