ATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM REPORT EVALUATING GRADE-SEPARATED RAIL AND HIGHWAY CROSSING ALTERNATIVES TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 1987 Officers Chairman LOWELL B. JACKSON, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Highways Vice Chairman HERBERT H. RICHARDSON, Vice Chancellor and Dean of Engineering, Texas A & M University Secreta,y THOMAS B. DEEN, Executive Director, Transportation Research Board Members RAY A. BARNHART, Federal Highway Administrator, US. Department of Transportation (ex officio) JOHN A. CI.F.MF.NTS, Vice President, Sverdrup Corporation (Ex officio, Past Chairman, 1985) DONALD D. ENGEN, Federal Aviation Administrator, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio) FRANCIS B. FRANCOIS, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (ex officio) E. R. (VALD) HEIBERG III, Chief of Engineers and Commander, US. Army Corps of Engineers. Washington, D.C. (ex officio) LESTER A. HOEL, Hamilton Professor and Chairman, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia (ex officio, Past Chairman, 1986) RALPH STANLEY, Urban Mass Transportation Administrator, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio) DIANE STEED, National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio) GEORGE H. WAY, Vice President for Research and Test Department, Association of American Railroads (ex officio) ALAN A. ALTSHULER, Dean, Graduate School of Public Administration, New York University JOHN R. BORCHERT, Regents Professor, Department of Geography. University of Minnesota ROBERT D. BUGHER, Executive Director, American Public Works Association DANA F. CONNORS, Commissioner, Maine Department of Transportation C. LESLIE DAWSON, Secretary, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet PAUL B. GAINES, Director of Aviation, Houston Department of Aviation LOUIS J. GAMBACCINI, Assistant Executive Director/Trans-Hudson Transportation of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey JACK R. GILSTRAP, Executive Vice President, American Public Transit Association WILLIAM J. HARRIS, Snead Distinguished Professor of Transportation Engineering. Dept. of Civil Engineering, Texas A & M University WILLIAM K. HELLMAN, Secretary, Maryland Department of Tansportation RAYMOND H. HOGREFE, Director—State Engineer, Nebraska Department of Roads THOMAS L. MAINWARING, Consultant to Trucking Industry Affairs for Ryder System, Inc. JAMES E. MARTIN, President and Chief Operting Officer, Illinois Central Gulf Railroad DENMAN K. McNEAR, Chairman. President and Chief Executive Officer, Southern PacifIc Transportation Company LENO MENGHINI, Superintendent and Chief Engineer, Wyoming Highway Department WILLIAM W. MILLAR, Executive Director, Port Authority Allegheny County, Pittsburgh MILTON PIKARSKY, Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering, City College of New York JAMES P. PITZ, Director, Michigan Department of Transportation JOE G. RIDEOUTI'E, South Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation TED TEDESCO, Vice President, Resource Planning, American Airlines, Inc., Dallas/Fort Worth Airport CARL S. YOUNG, Broome Country Executive, New York NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Transportation Research Board Executive Committee Subcommittee for NCHRP LOWELL B. JACKSON, Colorado Department of Highways (Chairman) FRANCIS B. FRANCOIS, Amer. Assn. of State Hwy. & Transp. Officials HERBERT H. RICHARDSON, Texas A & M University RAY A. BARNHART, U.S. Dept. of Transp. LESTER A. HOEL, University of Virginia THOMAS B. DEEN, Transportation Research Board Field of Traffic Area of Operations and Control Project Panel, G3-31 RICHARD A. WIITA, New York State Dept. of Transportation (Chairman) JAMES OVERTON, Federal Highway Administration MICHAEL M. CHRISTENSEN, Minnesota Department of Transportation JOHN REHOR, NISB BRUCE F. GEORGE, Federal Railroad Administration CLIFF SHOEMAKER, Union Pac(flc Railroad DAVID C. HERRING, Maryland Department of Transportation OTI'O F. SONEFELD, Atchison Topeka SF Railway Co. ROBERT A. LAVETFE, Florida Department of Transportation JANET A. COLEMAN, FHWA Liaison Representative DAVID K WITHEFORD, TAB Liaison Representative Program Staff ROBERT J. REILY, Director, Cooperative Research Programs CRAWFORD F. JENCKS, Senior Program Officer ROBERT E. SPICHER, Associate Director DAN A. ROSEN, Senior Program Officer LOUIS M. MACGREGOR, Program Officer HARRY A. SMITH, Senior Program Officer IAN M. FRIEDLAND, Senior Program Officer HELEN MACK, Editor NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM REPORT 21313 EVALUATING GRADE-SEPARATED RAIL AND HIGHWAY CROSSING ALTERNATIVES R. C. TAGGART AND P. LAURIA Ernst & Whinney Washington, D.C. G. GROAT, C. REES, and A. BRICK-TURIN DeLeuw, Cather & Company Washington, D.C. RESEARCH SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS IN COOPERATION WITH THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION AREAS OF INTEREST: PLANNING SOCIOECONOMICS USER NEEDS FACILITIES DESIGN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROL TRAFFIC FLOW, CAPACITY, AND MEASUREMENTS (HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION) (RAIL TRANSPORTATION) TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL WASHINGTON, D.C. JUNE 1987 NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH NCHRP REPORT 288 PROGRAM Project 3-31 FY'83 ISSN 0077-5614 Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effec- tive approach to the solution of many problems facing high- ISBN 0-309-04022-1 way administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems L. C. Catalog Card No. 87-71103 are of local interest and can best be studied by highway de- partments individually or in c9operation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth Price $10.80 of highway transportation develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These NOTICE problems are best studied through a coordinated program of The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Co- operative Highway Research Program conducted by the Transportation Re- cooperative research. search Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing Board's judgment In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of that the program concerned is of national importance and appropriate with the American Association of State Highway and Transpor- respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council. tation Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national high- The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and way research program employing modern scientific tech- with due consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the proj- niques. This program is supported on a continuing basis by ect. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the re- funds from participating member states of the Association search agency that performed the research, and, while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical committee, they are not necessarily and it reCeives the full cooperation and support of the Fed- those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, eral Highway Administration, United States Department of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials, or Transportation. the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical com- The Transportation Research Board of the National Re- mittee according to procedures established and monitored by the Transpor- search Council was requested by the Association to admin- tation Research Board Executive Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research Council. ister the research program because of the Board's The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology practices. The Board is uniquely suited for this purpose as: with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the it maintains an extensive committee structure from which Federal Government. The Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of En- authorities on any highway transportation subject may be gineering in the conduct of their services to the government, the public, and drawn; it possesses avenues of communications and cooper- the scientific and engineering communities. It is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. The National Acdemy of Engi- ation with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, neering and the Institute of Medicine were established in 1964 and 1970, re- universities, and industry; its relationship to the National spectively, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences. Research Council is an insurance of objectivity; it maintains The Transportation Research Board evolved in 1974 from the Highway Re- a full-time research correlation staff of specialists in high- search Board which was established in 1920. The TRB incorporates all for- way transportation matters to bring the findings of research mer HRB activities and also performs additional functions under a broader scope involving all modes of