Grant nudges city closer to Hines Hill overpass

by Judy Stringer

The Ohio Rail Development Commission has agreed to provide $2.9 million toward the construction of an overpass at the Hines Hill Road railroad tracks. That number represents 20% of the estimated $14-million project and a match to the city’s 20% commitment. It is expected to make Hudson’s project more competitive for grant money from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Crossing Elimination Program.

In a press release, state Sen. Kristina Roegner called the Ohio Rail Commission funding “a major step forward in bringing this project to fruition.” 

Hudson City Council President Chris Foster was quoted in the release as saying, “This grade separation will not only resolve frequent interruption for residents and school buses, but more importantly a many decades long emergency services burden, requiring multiple dispatches for any calls in the [northwest side] of Hudson. The added bonus will be our ability to connect the [northwest] corner of the community to downtown via multipurpose paths, which has been out of the question for the past 35 years.” ∞