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1 S U M M A R Y Prioritization Procedure for Proposed RoadâRail Grade Separation Projects Along Specific Rail Corridors The multimodal surface transportation network of the United States, consisting of more than 4 million miles of public roadways and more than 138,000 miles of railways, intersects at grade more than 200,000 times. In 2015, there were 129,582 public highwayârail grade crossings and 80,073 private grade crossings [Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) (FRA 2018). Historically, federal funding for roadâ rail grade crossing separation projects has focused on safety improvements through the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Rail Crossings Program, often referred to as the Section 130 Program. Through the first 27 years of the program, grade crossing fatalities in the United States have declined 57 percent. While the goal of zero deaths at grade crossings remains to be achieved, community requests for mobility and quality of life improvements are also fostering requests for grade separation projects. Commuters, delivery drivers, bus passengers, and emergency response personnel spend millions of hours each year waiting at highwayârail crossings for trains to pass through crossings. Vehicles idling at crossings waste fuel, create unwanted emis- sions, and reduce productivity. To address these issues, local communities are increasingly requesting state and federal funding. For example, in 2013, the newly formed Washington State Freight Advisory Committee compiled an inventory of grade separation projects from local agencies; the inventory exceeded $1.1 billion for current and emerging needs (State of Washington, Joint Transportation Committee 2016). A 2014 study by the Minnesota DOT identified 15 priority grade separations, with a funding shortfall of $243.67 million (Minnesota DOT 2014). In the current funding environment, state and local governments increasingly look to programs such as the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) or Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant programs to fund infrastructure needs such as roadârail grade separations. To be successful in these competitive grant pro- grams, applicant projects must typically demonstrate benefits across multiple criteria related to safety, economics, environment, and community livability. The goal of NCHRP Project 25-50, the subject of this report, was to identify additional criteria beyond the traditional traffic and safety factors that can help planners make better investment decisions for at-grade crossing separation projects and that allow for a more objective means of comparing project alternatives.
