Missouri City City Council approves safety study for Cravens Road corridor

A study designed to identify measures that could improve safety at a railroad crossing at Cravens Road and Hwy. 90 in Missouri City was unanimously approved by City Council during its July 5 regular meeting.

The $80,750 study, called the Cravens Road Corridor Safety Study and Noise Analysis, will be conducted by engineering and architectural planning firm TranSystems and will take about 90 days to complete, according to agenda documents.

The study will analyze the potential effects that a future full or partial closure at that crossing may have on the response time for emergency vehicles; distribution of truck and other traffic on roadways in the immediate vicinity; access agreements with businesses related to Cravens Road; and the potential noise impact on adjacent communities, according to the agenda report.

“There is an agreement in place that [Cravens Road crossing] remains open for these businesses until the end of the year,” said Shashi Kumar, director of public works and city engineer. “After that, there is an opportunity—and I’m not saying that we’re planning to close it—but there is an opportunity to make improvements.”

The study comes after the intersection has witnessed a number of collisions involving 18-wheeler trucks and trains, including a fatality, according to Kumar.

“We’ve seen and heard about many of these tragic accidents that put a black eye on our city,” Mayor Pro Tem Jeffrey Boney said during the meeting. “We need to find out what we can do to make that area a lot safer.”

According to the agenda report, any future closures will require Missouri City to reach out to various stakeholders, including nearby communities and businesses.