La Mirada~Residents are invited to the Rosecrans/Marquardt Separation Project community meeting to be held Tuesday, October 17 at the La Mirada Resource Center from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. with presentations at 4:30 and 6:00.

Long recognized as the most hazardous rail crossing in the state by regulators, construction is expected to begin in just over a year on a project that will grade separate the Santa Fe Springs intersection above the BNSF railroad tracks.

Three deaths and 20+ incidents have occurred there from 2013-2015, many we reported right here. The railroad tracks cross through the intersection diagonally, apparently making it more difficult for motorists and pedestrians to see oncoming trains.

The industrial intersection is located about a football field south of the La Mirada city limits. The southwest corner was a haven for West La Mirada teenagers and their dirt bikes in the 70’s when it was just a huge dirt lot, as this writer can personally attest to.

La Mirada area residents have been hearing the train horns well before incorporation since the tracks were laid in the late 19th century.

The Metro Transportation Authority (Metro) will oversee the $137 million+ funded project and along with Caltrans, they have studied ways to improve the crossing.

In March 2016, Metro identified a preferred alternative to grade separate Rosecrans and Marquardt from the railway after two community meetings were held in La Mirada to discuss various options.

Since then, the project team has been working on refining the alternative, completing the environmental process, and getting the project ready for construction.

At the upcoming community meeting on October 17, residents will learn more about the status of the environmental and design process and the anticipated next steps leading to the construction phase and be able to provide feedback.

Oh, and those train horns.

Just up the tracks to the east, the Valley View Avenue Separation Project was completed in 2014. So, when the Rosecrans project is complete, train horns will not be heard in this area for the first time in over 120 years.

Construction is expected to begin in 2019 and be completed sometime in 2021.