Improvements Planned For Poteau Railroad Crossing Where Four Died

<p>The Poteau City Council has approved its share of the cost to add gates to a railroad crossing where a woman and three children died last month.</p>

Wednesday, September 7th 2016, 11:58 am

By: News On 6

Improvements Planned For Poteau Railroad Crossing Where Four Died

The Poteau City Council has approved its share of the cost to add gates to a railroad crossing where a woman and three children died last month.

The total cost of the project is $313,000. Poteau will pick up $31,300, with $266,050 paid by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the federal government picking up the remaining $15,650.

On August 7th, 37-year-old April Goines and her three sons were killed when her vehicle was hit by a train. Her daughter was seriously injured.

State officials say the crossing on Dewey Avenue had been flagged for safety improvements since at least 2011.

ODOT says there no timetable on when the Kansas City Southern Railroad will begin the project, adding there are still from 6 to 16 months left in the approval process, now that Poteau has agreed to fund their share.