Allen County has received a federal grant of $27,878,116 for the next stage of work at the Scott Road rail crossing on the county's west side.

The money comes from the Federal Railroad Administration's Railroad Crossing Elimination program. It will fund project development, final design and construction for the C.R.O.S.S. Scott Road Project, including right-of-way work and utility relocation.

The award follows an earlier grant of up to $400,000, announced in January 2025, that allowed the county to study alternatives for the at-grade crossing with the Norfolk Southern Railway. That planning stage is scheduled to finish in December 2026.

County highway officials have studied closing the at-grade crossing and building a grade separation to improve the movement of people and goods along Scott Road, a main north-south route. Design work on the separation is expected to begin in late summer 2027, with construction finished by fall 2032.