Work to upgrade the Longmeadow railroad crossing where a public works employee was killed in March is being included in MassDOT's work plan for the next fiscal year.
Officials say they're pleased with the planned upgrades, which the town had sought for decades before Warren Cowles, who was plowing snow at the crossing at Tina Lane and Birnie Road, was hit by an Amtrak train.
His sister says the improvements should be immediate and not have to wait until the next budget cycle. Improvements are expected to cost about 800 thousand dollars.
The crossing has no lights, gates or bells warning of oncoming trains, and there have been five deaths there since 1975.
(Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)