Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 13, September 23, 2024
Subpart 1.
Candidate for vacation.
A grade crossing is a candidate for vacation under either
item A or B.
A. A grade crossing may
be vacated if there has been either an accident involving a fatality or two
property damage or personal injury accidents within the last five
years.
B. A grade crossing may be
vacated if:
(1) an alternate grade crossing or
grade separation that provides access to the affected private properties or
public lands is available within one-quarter mile (0.4 kilometer) of the
crossing in an urban area or one mile (1.6 kilometers) of the crossing in a
rural area; and
(2) the grade
crossing:
(a) is located in an urban area and
has a current ADT of 750 vehicles or less;
(b) is located in a rural area and has a
current ADT of 150 vehicles or less; or
(c) has sight distance obstructions or an
alignment that creates unsafe conditions at that grade crossing.
Subp. 2.
Considerations.
The commissioner shall consider the following factors in
determining which grade crossings to be vacated:
A. previous use of the grade crossing by
emergency vehicles;
B. accident
history for the last five years;
C.
use of the grade crossing by vehicles carrying hazardous materials, vehicles
carrying passengers for hire, and school buses;
D. sight distances that do not conform with
the AASHTO design manual;
E.
alignments of the roadway and the railroad track, and the angle of intersection
of those alignments;
F. profile of
the intersection of the roadway and the railroad track, and of the approaches
to the intersection;
G. distance
and travel time to an alternate crossing;
H. distance from the grade crossing to
adjacent intersections or driveways;
I. volume of vehicular traffic and operating
speed;
J. volume of train traffic
and operating speed;
K. use of the
grade crossing by pedestrians, bicyclists, and recreational users;
L. other factors that might adversely affect
the safety of roadway users, pedestrians, bicyclists, and recreational users;
and
M. costs and benefits of
vacating the grade crossing.
Subp.
3.
Crossing vacation program; priority.
In identifying grade crossings proposed to be vacated under
the crossing vacation program established by Minnesota Statutes, section
219.074,
subdivision 2, the commissioner shall first evaluate rail lines carrying the
highest number of trains and having the highest train speeds.
The commissioner may remove grade crossings proposed for
vacation due solely to alignment, sight distance, or other deficiencies from
the list if the road authority, at its own expense, corrects the identified
deficiencies.
