Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 13, September 23, 2024
Subpart 1.
Candidate for establishment
or relocation.
A proposed new grade crossing or proposed relocation of an
existing grade crossing must meet at least one of the criteria in items A to E
to be considered for establishment or relocation.
A. It will provide access to two or more
private properties or to public lands, that have no alternate access
route.
B. It will provide access
where an alternate grade crossing or grade separation is not available within
one-quarter mile (0.4 kilometer) in an urban area or one mile (1.6 kilometers)
in a rural area and will have an ADT of:
(1)
750 vehicles or more, if located in an urban area; or
(2) 150 vehicles or more, in a rural
area.
C. It will
consolidate two or more existing grade crossings.
D. It is required by the construction of a
new rail line.
E. It will increase
public safety by eliminating another safety problem area such as an
accident-prone roadway intersection.
Subp. 2.
Alternatives analysis.
A road authority or rail carrier that proposes a new grade
crossing or the relocation of an existing grade crossing must perform an
analysis of alternatives to the proposed new or relocated grade
crossing.
Subp. 3.
Considerations.
The commissioner shall consider the following factors in
determining whether a grade crossing may be established or relocated:
A. use of the grade crossing by emergency
vehicles;
B. use of the grade
crossing by vehicles carrying hazardous materials, vehicles carrying passengers
for hire, and school buses;
C.
conformity of sight distances with the AASHTO design manual;
D. alignments of the roadway and the railroad
track, and the angle of intersection of those alignments;
E. profile of the intersection of the roadway
and the railroad track, and of the approaches to the intersection;
F. distance and travel time to an alternate
crossing;
G. distance from the
grade crossing to adjacent intersections or driveways;
H. volume of vehicular traffic and operating
speed;
I. volume of train traffic
and operating speed;
J. use of the
grade crossing by pedestrians, bicyclists, and recreational users;
K. type of warning devices
proposed;
L. other factors that
might adversely affect the safety of roadway users, pedestrians, bicyclists,
and recreational users;
M. costs
and benefits of constructing the grade crossing, and the cost participation
that would be required of each of the parties involved, as well as the
availability of funds; and
N.
public opinion regarding establishment or relocation of the grade
crossing.
Subp. 4.
Responsibility for costs.
The cost of constructing a new grade crossing or relocating
an existing grade crossing is the responsibility of the road authority, unless
the construction or relocation is the result of an action initiated by the rail
carrier. If the new or relocated grade crossing consolidates two or more
existing grade crossings, the cost of constructing or relocating the grade
crossing must be divided between the road authority and the rail carrier in the
same proportion as the accrued benefits and savings.
