Funding

Sources of funds for highway-rail grade crossing improvements include federal, State, and local government agencies, and the railroad industry to a lesser extent. Additional information regarding funding sources and their history and legacies can be found in Appendix A, Section 2.

Federal Sources

Federal program sources of funding have grown and adapted over the years. This section will briefly discuss some of the more impactful funding sources that have been available in recent years and their importance. It is important to note that most federal-aid funding programs are State administered.

Highway Safety Improvement Program

The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is a core federal-aid Highway program with the purpose to achieve a significant reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads, including non-State-owned roads and roads on tribal land. The HSIP requires a data-driven, strategic approach to improving highway safety on all public roads with a focus on performance. (49) The HSIP is legislated under Section 148 of Title 23, United States Code (23 U.S.C. 148) and regulated under Part 924 of Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations (23 CFR 924). The HSIP consists of three main components, the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), State HSIP or program of Highway Safety Improvement Projects and the Railway-Highway Crossing Program (RHCP). The RHCP is legislated under Section 130 of Title of the United States Code (23 U.S.C. 130), with funding allocated to States as a set-aside of the HSIP. Section 130The RHCP provides funds for the elimination of hazards at railway-highway crossings. Program requirements and eligibility information can be found on the FHWA Office of Safety website at https:// safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/xings/ . The Section 130 Program has been correlated with a significant decrease in fatalities at railway-highway grade crossings. Since RHCP’s establishment in 1987 through 2017, for which most recent data is available, fatalities at these crossings have decreased by approximately 56 percent according to FRA data. (50) The overall reduction in fatalities comes despite an increase in the vehicle miles traveled on roadways and an increase in the passenger and freight traffic on the railways. The 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act, PL 114-94) continues the annual set-aside for railway-highway crossing improvements under 23 U.S.C. 130(e).(51) The funds are set-aside from a State’s Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) apportionment by a legislative formula and allocated to States, who administer the Federal-aid Highway Program with federal oversight. The FAST Act increased the set ‑aside amount for each fiscal year as shown. In addition, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (Public Law 114 ‑113) provided a one ‑time increase for fiscal year 2016.

•FY 2016: $350 million

•FY 2017: $230 million

•FY 2018: $235 million

•FY 2019: $240 million

•FY 2020: $245 million 141Other federal-aid highway funds may be used for improvements at crossings, depending upon the specific program eligibility guidelines. For example, HSIP funds other than Section 130 funds may be eligible for rail crossing safety improvements if a State has determined a need through its data-driven SHSP. Surface Transportation Block Grant Program funds may be another federal-aid highway funding source. See Appendix A for more information on federal-aid crossings improvement programs. Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program (CRISI)The FRA periodically provides grant funding for rail improvements which may be used to pay for crossing elimination and improvements. This program provides a comprehensive solution to leverage private, State and local investments to support safety enhancements and general improvements to infrastructure for both intercity passenger and freight railroads. Congress authorized this grant program for the Secretary to invest in a wide range of projects within the United States to improve railroad safety, efficiency, and reliability; mitigate congestion at both intercity passenger and freight rail chokepoints; enhance multi-modal connections; and lead to new or substantially improved Intercity Passenger Rail Transportation corridors. Additionally, the program includes rail safety projects, such as grade crossing enhancements, and rail line relocations and improvements. Applicable work also includes the following: rail regional and corridor planning, environmental analyses and research, workforce development, and training. In 2018, the FRA issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the CRISI Program that includes more than $318 million in grant funding authorized under the FAST Act. The CRISI grant program directs at least 25 percent of available funds towards rural communities to safely connect and upgrade rural America’s rail infrastructure. In addition, selection preference is given to projects with a 50 percent non-federal funding match from any combination of private, State, or local funds. The USDOT will consider how well the project aligns with key objectives including supporting economic vitality; leveraging federal funding; preparing for life-cycle costs; using innovative approaches to improve safety and expedite project delivery; and holding grant recipients accountable for achieving specific, measurable outcomes. Additional requirements that may pertain to the use of federal ‑aid funds are as follows:

•Federal funds are not eligible for costs incurred solely for the benefit of the railroad.

•At grade separations, federal funds are eligible to participate in costs to provide space for more tracks than are in place when the railroad establishes to the satisfaction of the State highway agency and FHWA that it has a definite demand and plans for the installation of the additional tracks within a reasonable time.

•Railroad share in the cost of certain crossing improvement projects is specified in 23 CFR 646.210. (52) Exceptions include the following: ̶State laws that require railroads to share in the cost of work for the elimination of hazards at highway-rail crossings shall not apply on federal-aid projects. 142 ̶Projects for crossing improvements are deemed to be of no ascertainable net benefit to the railroads and there shall be no required railroad share of the costs. ̶Projects for the reconstruction of existing grade separations are deemed to generally be of no ascertainable net benefit to the railroad and there should be no required railroad share of the costs, unless the railroad has a specific contractual obligation with the State or its political subdivision to share the costs.

•As per 23 CFR 646.212(a)(3), the federal share of the cost of a grade separation should be based on the cost to provide horizontal and/or vertical clearances used by the railroad in its normal practice, subject to limitations as shown in the appendix or as required by a State regulatory agency. (53)

•The railroad share of federal-aid projects that eliminate an existing crossing at which active control devices are in place or ordered to be installed by a State regulatory agency is to be 5 percent. These costs are to include costs for preliminary engineering, ROW, and construction as specified below and in 23 CFR 646.210: ̶Where a crossing is eliminated by grade separation, the structure and approaches required to transition to a theoretical highway profile that would have been constructed if there were no railroad present, for the number of lanes on the existing highway and in accordance with the current design standards of the State highway agency. ̶Where another facility, such as a highway or waterway, requiring a bridge structure is located within the limits of a grade-separation project, the estimated cost of a theoretical structure and approaches as described in 23 CFR 646.210 (c)(1) to eliminate the highway- rail crossing without considering the presence of the waterway or other highway. ̶Where a crossing is eliminated by railroad or highway relocation, the actual cost of the relocation project, the estimated cost of the relocation project, or the estimated cost for a structure and approaches as described in § 646.210 (c)(1) whichever is less. ̶Railroads may voluntarily contribute a greater share of project costs. Also, other parties may voluntarily assume the railroad’s share. Additional information can be found at the following websites:

•https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/federalaid/projects.cfm

•https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/fastact/factsheets/railwayhwycrossingsfst.cfm

•https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/olsp/fundingfederalaid/

State Funding

Section 130 RHCP funds are allocated by legislative formula to States who administer the Federal-aid Highway Program under federal oversight. Historically, States also have participated in funding highway-rail crossing improvement projects through fuel taxes and other sources. Additionally, States sometimes finance entire crossing projects, particularly if the crossing is on a State highway, or a State may set aside a designated amount of State funds for specific work as a sub-program such as crossing surface improvements. 143In general, for crossings on the State highway system, States provide for the maintenance of the highway approach and for traffic control devices not located on the railroad ROW . Typically, these include advance warning signs and pavement markings.

Local Agency Funding

Cities and counties can establish highway-rail crossing improvement programs in their local agencies. These types of programs can provide funding for partial reimbursement of railroad maintenance costs at crossings, or can meet the matching requirements of State and federal programs. Local agencies are often sources of funding for low-cost improvements such as removing vegetation and providing illumination. In addition, local agencies are responsible for maintaining the roadway approaches and the traffic control devices of f the railroad ROW on highways under their maintenance jurisdiction.

Railroad Funding

Railroads often volunteer to participate if they receive some benefit from the project. For example, if a project includes the closure of one or more crossings, the railroad may benefit from reduced maintenance costs. Railroads also may assist in low-cost improvements such as changes in railroad operations, track improvements, ROW clearance, and others.