Highway-Rail Crossing HANDBOOK Third Edition FOREWORD
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Highway-Rail Crossing HANDBOOK Third Edition FOREWORD The Highway-Rail Crossing Handbook, 3rd Edition (Handbook) has been prepared to disseminate current practices and requirements for developing engineering treatments for highway-rail grade crossings (referred to herein as “crossings”). The Handbook is intended to provide practitioners of all levels of knowledge and experience with critical background information and “noteworthy practices” consistent with the 2009 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD) and more recent guidance developed by recognized subject matter experts. This edition constitutes a substantial update to and revision of the 2007 Handbook and efforts have been made to reorganize the contents. This edition includes “hotlinks” to facilitate navigation and access external information available on the web. Notice This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document. This document does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation and the contents of this document do not necessarily reflect official policy of the U.S. Department ofransportation. T This document contains images that are shown for illustration purposes only. For specific requirements, please refer to the 2009 edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways. The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document. Quality Assurance Statement The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) provide high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. The FHWA and FRA periodically review quality issues and adjusts their programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement. TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE (FORM DOT F 1700.7) Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. FHWA-SA-18-040/FRA-RRS-18-001 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Highway-Rail Crossing Handbook, 3rd Edition July 2019 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Brent D. Ogden, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. Report No. Chelsey Cooper, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Institute of Transportation Engineers 1617 Eye Street NW, Suite 600 Washington, DC 20006 11. Contract or Grant No. TFH61-13-D-00026 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Office of Safety Design Period Covered Federal Highway Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Washington, DC 20590 Federal Railroad Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 15. Supplementary Notes: FHWA Contracting Officer’s Task Order Manager: Kelly Morton; FRA Task Order Manager: Debra Chappell; ITE Project Manager: Lisa Fontana Tierney; ITE Technical Publications Manager: Deborah Rouse. 16. Abstract The purpose of the Highway-Rail Crossing Handbook, 3rd Edition is an information resource developed to provide a unified reference document on prevalent and best practices as well as adopted standards relative to highway- rail grade crossings. The handbook provides general information on highway-rail crossings; characteristics of the crossing environment and users; and physical and operational changes that can be made at crossings to enhance the safety and operation of both highway and rail traffic over such intersections. The guidelines identified and potential alternative improvements presented in this handbook reflect current best practices nationwide. This handbook supersedes the Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Handbook—Revised Second Edition published in August 2007. This version includes a compendium of materials that were included in the previous one, supplemented with new information and applicable regulations in force that were available at the time of the update. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Grade Crossing, Railroad, Traffic Control, Crossing Safety 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified I Unclassified I 250 I Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS SYMBOL WHEN YOU KNOW MULTIPLY BY TO FIND SYMBOL LENGTH in inches 25.4 millimeters mm ft feet 0.305 meters m yd yards 0.914 meters m mi miles 1.61 kilometers km AREA in2 square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2 ft2 square feet 0.093 square meters m2 yd2 square yard 0.836 square meters m2 ac acres 0.405 hectares ha mi2 square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2 VOLUME fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters mL gal gallons 3.785 liters L ft3 cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m3 yd3 cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m3 NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3 MASS oz ounces 28.35 grams g lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg T short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams (or “metric ton”) Mg (or “t”) TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) oF Fahrenheit 5 (F-32)/9 or (F-32)/1.8 Celsius oC ILLUMINATION fc foot-candles 10.76 lux lx fl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2 FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS lbf poundforce 4.45 newtons N lbf/in2 poundforce per square inch 6.89 kilopascals kPa APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS SYMBOL WHEN YOU KNOW MULTIPLY BY TO FIND SYMBOL LENGTH mm millimeters 0.039 inches in m meters 3.28 feet ft m meters 1.09 yards yd km kilometers 0.621 miles mi AREA mm2 square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in2 m2 square meters 10.764 square feet ft2 m2 square meters 1.195 square yards yd2 ha hectares 2.47 acres ac km2 square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi2 VOLUME mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz L liters 0.264 gallons gal m3 cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet ft3 m3 cubic meters 1.307 cubic yards yd3 MASS g grams 0.035 ounces oz kg kilograms 2.202 pounds lb Mg (or “t”) megagrams (or “metric ton”) 1.103 short tons (2000 lb) T TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) oC Celsius 1.8C+32 Fahrenheit oF ILLUMINATION lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc cd/m2 candela/m2 0.2919 foot-Lamberts fl FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS N newtons 0.225 poundforce lbf kPa kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per square inch lbf/in2 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................1 GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................2 CHAPTER 2. ENGINEERED TREATMENTS .......................................................................11 EXISTING LAWS, RULES, REGULATIONS, AND POLICIES.......................................11 CLOSURE OR SEPARATION...............................................................................................12 CROSSING CONSOLIDATION AND SAFETY PROGRAMS .........................................16 State Program Example—NCDOT .......................................................................................................16 Local Program Example—San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG) .........................18 Railroad Program Example—BNSF Railway Company (BNSF).........................................................18 INACTIVE OR ABANDONED CROSSINGS ......................................................................18 REMOVAL OF GRADE SEPARATION STRUCTURES ...................................................19 State Level Guidance—Pennsylvania ...................................................................................................20 RELOCATION.........................................................................................................................21 SITE IMPROVEMENTS ........................................................................................................21 Crossing Geometry................................................................................................................................22 Removing Obstructions and Sight Distance..........................................................................................27 Illumination ...........................................................................................................................................31 Safety Barriers and Crossing Surfaces ..................................................................................................33 NEW CROSSINGS ..................................................................................................................34 PASSIVE CROSSING TREATMENTS.................................................................................34 Signs ......................................................................................................................................................34 Pavement Markings...............................................................................................................................47 Exclusion Zone (Keep Clear) Treatments .............................................................................................48 Edge Lines.............................................................................................................................................48