Tarrant County projects are included in statewide federal transportation grant awards, bringing up to $46 million for a Fort Worth railroad overpass and up to $5.6 million for a crossing project spanning Fort Worth and Haslet.
The statewide federal transportation awards include funding for two Tarrant County railroad-crossing projects. The larger of the two awards, up to $46 million, is earmarked for the RM 2871/Chapin School Road at Union Pacific Grade Separation in Fort Worth. That project has been selected for final design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction, and it will build a grade-separated overpass carrying RM 2871 over the Union Pacific Railroad and Aledo Road. A separate federal snippet from transportation.gov similarly describes $46 million going to TxDOT to support construction of that same overpass.
The second award, up to $5.6 million, covers the Blue Mound Road Grade Separation, with the County of Tarrant listed as the applicant. That project has been selected for project development and final design, and the funding will advance the future elimination of an at-grade crossing over the BNSF mainline in Fort Worth and Haslet, the announcement states.
What the Money Means for Commuters and Freight
The projects focus on eliminating at-grade rail crossings in Tarrant County.
Grade separations are intended to enhance safety and mobility for people and goods.
Coordinating With TxDOT and Regional Partners
The North Central Texas Council of Governments has previously outlined the purpose of this kind of regional funding push: a 2024 presentation from North Central Texas Council of Governments described its grade-crossing program as designed to fund highway-rail or pathway-rail crossing improvements that enhance the safety and mobility of people and goods.
That same regional council has worked with Tarrant County before. A September 2024 NCTCOG presentation identified Tarrant County as the submitting and implementing agency for a separate rail-crossing grant tied to the Bonds Ranch Road project near Hicks Airfield, located on Saginaw Main Street and Bonds Ranch Road. That presentation listed TxDOT, NCTCOG, the City of Fort Worth, BNSF, and Union Pacific as project partners working alongside the county.
A Broader Push for Grade Separations Across Texas
The Tarrant County awards arrive against a backdrop of growing state and federal investment in eliminating dangerous at-grade rail crossings. MyHighPlains reported TxDOT was awarded a $755 million Federal Railroad Administration grant for rail grade-separation projects across the state, and the federal total for 12 critical rail grade-separation projects statewide was reported as more than $755 million. MyHighPlains additionally reported that those 12 statewide projects represent a combined local, state, and federal investment of more than $953 million, with TxDOT leveraging $77.6 million from the state's Off-System Rail Grade Separation State Fund Program.
The state has also been building out its own grant pipeline for these projects. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that the Texas Legislature approved a $250 million grant program for railway grade-separation projects in May 2025. The newspaper also detailed a separate proposal from nearby Haslet, where traffic along Avondale-Haslet Road often backs up because of trains leaving the BNSF Alliance yard. Haslet's proposed bridge, as drawn, would pass over Farm Road 156, School House Road, and the BNSF railways, and the city's proposal advanced to the second phase of state consideration — meaning that if Haslet receives funding, the project must begin within three years, according to the same report.
