Item C: Railroad Quiet Zone Update

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ATTACHMENT B 5. Close Unneeded Crossings In 1991, the Federal Railroad Administrator endorsed a goal of closing 25 percent of all highway-rail crossings, and the 1994 Action Plan included several program elements intended to help achieve that goal. Although that target has not yet been achieved, DOT leadership has provided significant support for efforts by States and railroads to eliminate redundant and particularly hazardous crossings through consolidation of nearby crossings on major rail lines, grade separations, and other means. Outreach conducted in developing this plan revealed a strong conviction among highway-rail crossing experts that a strong emphasis on closing closures must be continued. Notably, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is on record as a supporter of highway-rail crossing closures and consolidations as well as a statement from DOT endorsing such a program. For the past decade, DOT, through the FRA, has worked towards this goal of a 25 percent reduction in rail/highway at-grade crossings. Closing redundant and particularly hazardous crossings frees resources to address safety at the remaining highway-rail crossings, reduces hazards to trains associated with disturbance of the track structure by large motor vehicles, and permits road authorities and railroads to focus maintenance resources on crossing surfaces at the remaining locations. Very often crossings can be closed with no other adjustments to the road network. In other cases short extensions of access roads are required. The Department remains confident that many additional highway-rail grade crossings, public and private, can be eliminated without detriment to local mobility; and completing this effort is necessary to ensure the ability of freight and passenger railroads to play a constructive role in the National transportation system. During the development of this Action Plan, there has been much discussion about the need to provide a strong endorsement of the practice of crossing closures and consolidations where appropriate, and to provide a strong mission statement supporting this approach at the Federal level. A number of partners urged that a stronger Federal endorsement of crossing consolidation will assist States in obtaining success with these projects at the local level. The Department unequivocally supports continued efforts to consolidate grade crossings and make more effective use of scarce public safety resources. The Department will also continue to advocate flexibility in Federal-Aid highway programs for crossing closure projects. From the Secretary of Transportation’s Action Plan June 2004