Chapter 672-16 CRITERIA FOR ELIMINATION OF HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSINGS
| (a) |
"AASHTO": The
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. |
| (b) |
"Average Daily Traffic" (ADT): The volume
of traffic typical in a 24 hour period. |
| (c) |
"Clearing Sight Distance": The distance
required for a vehicle to safely pass over and clear a crossing when departing
from a stopped position as shown in the current edition of the AASHTO Policy on
Geometric Design of Highways and Streets. |
| (d) |
"Department": The Department of
Transportation of the State of Georgia; sometimes abbreviated as
GDOT. |
| (e) |
"Engineer": The Chief
Engineer of GDOT, acting directly or through a duly authorized representatives
acting within the scope of the particular duties and responsibilities assigned
to them. |
| (f) |
"Highway-rail grade
crossing": The area where a highway and a railroad's right-of-way cross at the
same level, within which are included the railroad tracks, highway and the
associated traffic control devices. |
| (g) |
"Land-locked property": Property by which
all ingress, egress and/or access has been eliminated, removed or
cut-off. |
| (h) |
"O.C.G.A": The
Official Code of Georgia Annotated. |
| (i) |
"Passive highway-rail grade crossing": A
crossing that has standard signs and/or pavement markings that provide warning
that there is a highway-rail grade crossing. |
| (j) |
"Signalized highway-rail grade crossing":
A crossing that has train activated warning devices, typically in the form of
bells, lights and gates. |
| (k) |
"Railroad": All corporations, companies, or individuals owning or operating any
railroad in this state. This title shall apply to all persons, firms, and
companies, and to all associations of persons, whether incorporated or
otherwise, that engage in business as common carriers upon any of the lines of
railroad in this state, as well as to railroad corporations and railroad
companies as defined in O.C.G.A. |
| (l) |
"Railroad main line": All portions of the
railway line not used solely as yards, spurs, and side tracks. |
| (m) |
"Skew Angle": The interior angle measured
between a line that extends the roadway centerline perpendicular from the stop
bar to the nearest rail. |
| (n) |
"Train": One or more locomotives coupled with or without rail cars, that
operates on rails or tracks and to which all other traffic must yield the
right-of-way at highway-rail grade crossings. |
| (o) |
"Vehicle": Every device in, upon or by
which, any person or property can be transported or drawn upon any highway,
road or street except trains and light rail transit operating in exclusive
alignments. Light rail transit operating in a mixed-use or shared alignment to
which other traffic is not required to yield the right-of-way by law, is a
vehicle. |
The rules to establish the criteria for closure of highway-rail
grade crossings are promulgated in accordance with O.C.G.A. Section 32-6-193.1 for use by both the Department and local governing authorities. The intent is
to enhance public safety for both vehicular and train traffic at highway-rail
grade crossings. Application of the criteria in section
672-16-.04 and consideration of
factors listed in O.C.G.A. Section 32-6-193.1 along with comments from a public
hearing shall be weighed to determine if a public crossing should remain open
or if the crossing should be eliminated.
Any railroad may file a petition requesting an order to
eliminate a highway-rail grade crossing on any public road. The petition shall
include a location map showing the crossing, the corresponding railroad
crossing inventory number, and the name of the city and/or county in which the
crossing is located along with the information required under O.C.G.A. Section
32-6-193.1. Railroads shall report
the same information that they normally report to U.S. D.O.T. and the Federal
Railroad Administration whenever possible.
Both the governing authority and the railroad shall have the
right to challenge the validity of data submitted by the other party. Both
parties shall make good faith efforts to reach agreement regarding the data
used to reach a determination of safety. Any disagreements that are not
mutually resolved shall be settled during the appeal process.
| (a) |
Petition requesting an order to eliminate
a highway-rail grade crossing.
| 1. |
State
Routes. The railroad shall submit the petition regarding a state highway to the
GDOT, Railroad Crossing Program Manager, 935 E. Confederate Avenue, Building
24, Atlanta, Georgia 30316 by certified mail or statutory overnight
delivery. |
| 2. |
Local Roads and
Streets. The railroad shall submit the petition regarding a city street or
county road to the applicable local governing authority. |
|
| (b) |
Public Hearing.
| 1. |
The appropriate state or local governing
authority in receipt of a completed petition to eliminate a railroad crossing
shall conduct a public hearing on the issue prior to deciding whether to grant
or deny the petition to eliminate the railroad crossing. The purpose of the
public hearing shall be to inform the public of the proposed action, to gather
supporting data regarding hardship cases and to validate data being gathered
for use in making an overall determination regarding elimination. The public
hearing shall be held within 60 days after receiving the petition. The
applicable governing authority shall render a decision on the petition within
90 days of receipt. |
| 2. |
The
governing authority shall advertise the public hearing by posting a "Notice of
Public Hearing" signage at the railroad crossing under review. Signage shall be
placed on each approach leading up to the crossing and shall be at least 24" x
36" in size. The sign shall provide information regarding the date, time and
location of the public hearing. A minimum of two additional signs shall be
placed at the location of the public hearing with one sign inside the building
and one sign outside the building. |
| 3. |
The governing authority conducting the
public hearing shall provide a written record of all oral comments and
responses. Additionally the governing authority conducting the public hearing
shall provide public comment forms to record and document all written comments.
Written comments shall be accepted for five (5) calendar days following the
said public hearing and the appropriate address for submitting such comments
shall be printed on the public comment form. |
| 4. |
The governing authority conducting the
public hearing shall be responsible for retaining a written record of all
public comments (written and oral), any responses provided, along with any
displays, maps and/or other relative documents used in conducting the public
hearing. The governing authority shall retain these items for at least one (1)
year following the public hearing. |
|
The Department in respect to state highways, the county
governing authority in respect to county roads or the municipality governing
authority in respect to city streets shall determine if the highway-rail grade
crossing shall remain open or should be eliminated. This determination shall be
made upon consideration of all factors listed in O.C.G.A. Section 32-6-193.1 and in accordance with the "Georgia Department of Transportation's Guide for
Evaluating Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety". A sum total of adjustment
factors greater than or equal to a positive five (+5) shall be justification to
eliminate a crossing.
| (a) |
Records. The governing authority conducting the investigation
shall retain the completed "Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Evaluation" form
along with all calculations and supporting documentation used in completing the
assessment for a minimum of one (1) year following the investigation. |
| (a) |
Any railroad aggrieved by an order of a
local governing authority in accordance with a crossing on a local road may
request a review by the GDOT in accordance with O.C.G.A. 32-6-193.1(c)(3).
| 1. |
The railroad shall submit an appeal to the
GDOT, Railroad Crossing Program Manager, 935 E. Confederate Avenue, Building
24, Atlanta, Georgia 30316 by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery
within thirty (30) days from the date of the Order issued by the local
governing authority. |
| 2. |
Along with
the letter of appeal, the railroad shall include a copy of all correspondence
with the local governing authority, a copy of the Order issued by the local
governing authority and filing fee in the form of a check in the amount of
$500.00, made payable to the Georgia Department of Transportation. The filing
fee shall be applied towards the investigation of the appeal in accordance with
O.C.G.A. 32-6-193.1, sub-section (c)(3)(D). |
| 3. |
At the request of the GDOT, the local
governing authority who issued the original order shall provide copies of those
documents outlined in section
672-16-.03, sub-section (b) of this
document along with those documents outlined in section
672-16-.04 of this
document. |
| 4. |
The GDOT shall have
sixty (60) days to review the appeal and make a determination as to whether or
not the original order of the local governing authority shall be upheld or
overturned. |
|
| (b) |
Any
railroad aggrieved by an order of the GDOT in accordance with a crossing on a
state route may request a review in accordance with O.C.G.A. 32-6-193.1(c)(3).
| 1. |
The railroad shall submit an appeal to the
GDOT, Railroad Crossing Program Manager, 935 E. Confederate Avenue, Building
24, Atlanta, Georgia 30316 by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery
within thirty (30) days from the date of the Order issued by the GDOT. Along
with the letter of appeal, the railroad shall include a copy of all
correspondence with the GDOT, a copy of the Order issued by the GDOT and filing
fee in the form of a check in the amount of $500.00, made payable to the
Georgia Department of Transportation. |
| 2. |
The GDOT shall forward such appeals
directly to the Office of State Administrative Hearings for their review and
judgment. |
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