Rail Highway Operations Manual: Project Selection

Section 3: Project Selection

Program Call and Project Submission

Each year RRD issues a program call for candidate crossings by providing the Railroad Grade Crossing Replanking Project Submission Form (TxDOT Form 1876) and a tabulation spreadsheet example to each district. Prior to completing the form, the district railroad coordinator should visit crossings on the state highway system to determine the need for crossings requiring new planking. The district railroad coordinator should then complete the form by:

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Performing a site inspection to verify the condition of the crossing and taking a photo of the crossing rather than attaching an outdated image.

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Completing basic crossing information.

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Verifying AADT in TRIMS or performing a field count.

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Rating and describing the condition of the crossing.

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Contacting the Transportation Planning and Programming Division (TPP) if the AADT shown in TRIMS does not match existing counts.

The district completes one form for each crossing submitted and ranks each crossing according to district priority. RRD strives (within funding limitations) to include each district’s top priority ranked submission in the current year’s program.

The district should also note if a full closure would be allowed or if cost estimates for partial closures should be prepared by the railroad company, or shoofly by the district. The district will have the final authority in approving a full closure. See Section 4 for more details.

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Project Ranking

RRD establishes each program year’s crossings by:

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Calculating the cost of replanking the highest ranked crossing in each of the 25 districts.

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For all other crossings submitted, calculating a cost per vehicle to replank the crossing and prioritizing these crossings across the state by lowest cost per vehicle (highest priority).

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Determining which crossings from Step 2 can be funded from available program funds for the program year.

The cost per vehicle metric is used to ensure the best program value is obtained considering the volume of traffic using the crossing. In other words, a crossing with greater traffic volumes will have higher priority than another crossing with lower volumes with the same estimated cost of replanking.

After the finalized list of crossings for replanking is established, RRD furnishes a list to each district and railroad company. This list is typically referred to as the Exhibit L.

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Corridor Improvements

Although the replanking program has limited funding each year, corridor improvements to upgrade a series of at-grade crossings along the same track or railroad company may be eligible for funding if:

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Deemed high priority by RRD.

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Railroad company chooses to cost participate.

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Significant savings could result by upgrading all the crossings at the same time.

RRD will evaluate any proposed corridor improvements with the district and the railroad company to determine eligibility.

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Calculating Cost Per Vehicle

The total estimated cost of replanking a single crossing is obtained by multiplying the estimated cost of replanking per track-foot by the width of the crossing. For the purposes of this calculation, “the width of the crossing” is the length of the track traversing the roadway plus 3 feet beyond the edge of the pavement or sidewalk on both sides of the roadway (a total of an additional 6 feet). The total cost includes the cost of replanking multiple tracks at the same crossing if multiple tracks are to be replanked.

The estimated cost per vehicle is the total estimated cost of the project divided by the AADT at the crossing. AADT is determined by an actual count if available or an estimated count provided by TPP. AADT is not determined based on a future projected count.

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Programming

RRD will request the district railroad coordinator setup CSJs in TxDOT CONNECT for each crossing to be replanked through the replanking program. The district railroad coordinator will upload to TRIMS and inform RRD. The CSJ will be shown on the Replank Scope of Work and/or Traffic Control Plansets.

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