Section 2: Crossing Closures & Consolidations
Anchor: #i1005129Introduction
In the interest of public safety, TxDOT, local governments, and the railroad companies strive to consolidate and close existing redundant at-grade crossings, and make other operational or safety improvements to facilitate the elimination of safety hazards at railroad at-grade crossings at selected locations.
When proposing crossing closures within a community, the corridor of crossings over the same rail line should be considered. A corridor should be evaluated for:
- any at-grade crossings that may be closed
- any at-grade crossings that may be improved (both for capacity and safety)
- any at-grade crossings that can be grade separated
- traffic analysis of proposed roadway network.
General Considerations
Considerations that may influence the decision to eliminate a rail-highway at-grade crossing include:
- traffic analysis of proposed roadway network
- density of crossings, especially when closer than ¼ mile apart
- support from local community
- sight distance restrictions
- traffic and train counts (existing and future)
- roadway speed limit
- train speed
- number of lanes
- number of tracks
- presence of siding or control point that will require a train to stop for extended periods
- roadway profile
- if roadway is paved or not
- adjacent traffic signals or intersections
- emergency vehicle routing
- economic consequences related to businesses or anticipated growth
- crash history and analysis
- delays at existing crossing from trains blocking crossing
- track abandonments or out-of-service tracks.
Authorization of a Crossing Closure
Once a crossing has been identified for closure and the local government is in agreement, the local government’s governing body shall authorize the closure by passing a resolution or ordinance.