Virginia Code 33.2-903: Grade crossing closing and safety
A. It is the public policy of the Commonwealth to enhance public safety by establishing safe highway-rail grade crossings, to consolidate and close unsafe, unnecessary, or redundant crossings, and to limit the establishment of new crossings. The Board has the authority to close public highway-rail grade crossings on all systems of state highways for which it has responsibility.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 33.2-903
- Board: means the Commonwealth Transportation Board. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- Commissioner of Highways: means the individual who serves as the chief executive officer of the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Roadway: means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- State: includes District of Columbia;
(f) "Transit facilities" means all real and personal property located in the Zone, necessary or useful in rendering transit service between points within the Zone, by means of rail, bus, water or air and any other mode of travel, including, without limitation, tracks, rights-of-way, bridges, tunnels, subways, rolling stock for rail, motor vehicle, marine and air transportation, stations, terminals and ports, areas for parking and all equipment, fixtures, buildings and structures and services incidental to or required in connection with the performance of transit service;
(g) "Transit services" means the transportation of persons and their packages and baggage by means of transit facilities between points within the Zone including the transportation of newspapers, express and mail between such points, and charter service which originates within the Zone but does not include taxicab service or individual-ticket-sales sightseeing operations;
(h) "Transit Zone" or "Zone" means the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Zone created and described in Section 3 as well as any additional area that may be added pursuant to Section 83(a) of this Compact; and
(i) "WMATC" means Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission. See Virginia Code 33.2-3100
- Systems of state highways: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-251. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
B. The Commissioner of Highways on his own motion or by request of any interested landowner, railroad corporation, or local governing body may petition the Board to close a highway-rail grade crossing as a public crossing.
C. Prior to petitioning the Board to close a highway-rail grade crossing, the Commissioner of Highways shall conduct a traffic engineering study to determine the validity of closing the crossing. The traffic engineering study shall consider all factors, including (i) the number of freight and passenger trains passing the crossing and their timetable speeds, (ii) the distance to an alternate crossing, (iii) the availability of alternate access, (iv) the crossing’s accident history during the five-year period immediately prior to the study, (v) the number of vehicles per day using the crossing, (vi) the posted speed limit at the crossing, (vii) the type of warning devices present at the crossing, (viii) the alignment of the roadway and railroad and their angle of intersection, (ix) the number of trucks per day carrying hazardous materials through the crossing, (x) the number of vehicles per day carrying passengers for hire through the crossing, (xi) the number of school buses per day using the crossing, and (xii) the use of the crossing by emergency vehicles.
D. The results of the traffic engineering study shall be made public in accordance with the procedures set forth in § 33.2-902. The Commissioner of Highways shall present his findings and recommendations to the Board, and the Board shall decide what actions to take regarding the railroad crossing at issue.