Approval of this action will add one project to the adopted FY 2026 LOPP. No other projects in the LOPP will be affected by the proposed Amendment.

The Broward MPO was awarded $15,440,000 in FY 2022 Railroad Crossing Elimination Program (RCEP) funding from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), along with a local match of $3,860,000, for the Broward County Sealed Corridor Project which would install exit gates and centerline medians at 21 road-rail crossings along the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) corridor in Broward County (for further details, please see the grant application in Attachment 1). On May 30, 2025, the FRA obligated and executed a Grant Agreement for the proposed Project (provided in Attachment 2).

A field review of each of the 21 crossings was conducted by representatives from FRA, Brightline, FEC, FDOT, Broward County, local municipalities, and Broward MPO staff. Following the review, FRA issued a report recommending the installation of sidewalks at Southwest 2nd Street, Southwest 22nd Street, and Northwest 1st Street along the FEC. However, these sidewalk improvements fall outside the scope of the RCEP grant, and FRA has confirmed it will not increase the Federal share to cover the associated costs. The three cities where the recommended sidewalks are located—Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Dania Beach—do not have available funding to support installation. The required improvements include new or extended track plates, asphalt work, pedestrian gates, signal upgrades, and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalks, making the cost infeasible within current municipal budgets.

To address this gap, the Broward MPO staff is proposing to allocate $2.6 million in STP Urban Areas >200K (SU) funds in FY 2026 to support the sidewalk installations at Southwest 2nd Street, Southwest 22nd Street, and Northwest 1st Street along the FEC. Before these funds can be programmed into the Transportation Improvement Program, the project must be added to the FY 2026 List of Priority Projects (LOPP), which was approved by the Board at its June 2025 meeting. Broward MPO staff recommend including the project in the LOPP under the Safety Funding Program. For additional details, please see the proposed LOPP Amendment in Attachment 3.

No other projects in the LOPP will be affected by the proposed Amendment.

MPO staff recommends approval of the proposed LOPP Amendment. No other projects in the LOPP will be affected by the proposed Amendment.

If you have any questions about this item, please contact Jihong Chen at (954) 876-0066 or chenj@browardmpo.org.