The U.S. Department of Transportation will award Colorado approximately $2.5 million in railroad-related grants to two southern Colorado recipients.

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is slated to receive more than $1.9 million to replace a bridge over the Animas River. In a July 22 letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao, U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner asked for funding of the project.

“The Railroad has an estimated annual economic impact of nearly $200 million and transported 270,000 travelers in 2019,” they wrote. “A vital part of this connection is a 242-foot bridge that crosses the Animas River that is currently in a state of overstress and in need of replacement.”

Money from the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program will go towards building a replacement bridge next to the original structure on the tourist rail line.

Trinidad will also get $548,000 from the program to study and plan for a future 180-mile passenger rail line between Pueblo and Fort Collins.

The money from the federal government comes as the country observes Rail Safety Week from Sept. 21-27. Last year, four people died and seven were injured in train-vehicle crashes in Colorado. There have been 265 such incidents in the state since 2010, the Colorado Department of Transportation reports.