Three railroad crossings along Highway 90A in Fort Bend County will get overpasses or underpasses through a $755 million federal safety program.

The projects at Dairy Ashford Road and Eldridge Road, near Missouri City, are among 12 grade-separation projects the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) approved statewide, ABC13 reported Aug. 25. A third Fort Bend County location has not been publicly identified. Grade separations physically lift or lower roadways so vehicles and trains no longer cross at the same level.

Fort Bend County Judge Daniel Wong highlighted the investment in an Aug. 20 statement, calling it the product of years of local, state and federal coordination. TxDOT has not announced a construction timeline. The agency said it is still finalizing plans for all 12 projects.

Local impact

For decades, trains blocking the Highway 90A corridor have created congestion and potentially delayed police, fire and emergency medical vehicles, according to the county's announcement. Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers, who has pushed for the improvements for years, described the stakes in the Aug. 20 statement.

"I've seen emergency vehicles forced to wait for trains to pass while traffic backs up, all waiting for crossings to reopen," Meyers said. "… This funding represents an important step toward making those solutions a reality."

The announcement comes weeks after Missouri City took its own step to address rail safety. On July 20, City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance converting roughly 700 feet of Cravens Road near Highway 90A from two-way traffic to one-way northbound, Community Impact reported. That crossing has seen 11 reported train collisions since 2021, according to City Engineer Vincenzo Corazza and the Missouri City Police Department. TxDOT has proposed a spring 2027 bid process for the $500,000 Cravens Road conversion.

Funding breakdown

The nearly $1 billion statewide program draws from two pots. The federal grant accounts for $755 million. The remainder comes from a $350 million state grant program Texas lawmakers created after 15-year-old Sergio Rodriguez was struck and killed by a train while walking to Milby High School in east Houston in December 2024.

TxDOT's Houston district can be reached at [email protected] or (713) 802-5199 for project updates.