Companion Guide to Video August 2012

www.fhwa.dot.gov/federal-aidessentials

Project Development

Preparing the PS&E

Railroad Coordination and 

Certification Requirements

Agencies are required to certify proper coordination with railroads

prior to construction on Federal-aid projects

Imagine yourself in charge of a Federal-aid project 

to resurface a two-lane road somewhere in the 

country. As the paving crew approaches a railroad 

crossing, a train comes roaring through. This isn’t 

a safe situation, and you realize the railroad was 

never notified that the crossing was to be repaved. 

Twenty freight trains pass the crossing each day, 

and the railroad 

won’t let you close 

the track. 

This is a real-world 

situation that can 

bring construction to 

a halt until it’s safe and the railroad can plan for 

disruptions to its operations. When work stops, the 

delay can add to project costs. These problems 

can be avoided by coordinating with railroads 

before construction begins. 

Federal-aid projects require a statement, often 

referred to as the railroad certification, from the 

State department of transportation, or State DOT, 

confirming that the appropriate railroad 

coordination has taken place. This statement is 

prepared by you as a local public agency, or LPA,

and is required for all Federal-aid highway 

construction 

projects, including 

projects that don’t 

involve a railroad. 

In this video, we 

will discuss 

requirements for 

improving safety 

at-grade railroad 

crossings and how 

early coordination can help avoid unnecessary 

delays and project costs. 

You may be required to improve an at-grade 

railroad crossing if the existing traffic control or 

warning devices do not meet current standards, 

and the crossing is located either within, or near 

to, your project. 

The best way to determine if your project must 

address these safety improvements is to look for 

any railroad-related traffic control devices located 

within the limits of your project, even if the 

crossing itself is located outside the project limits. 

This could include signs, markings, or any other 

traffic control 

devices mandated 

by the Manual on 

Uniform Traffic 

Control Devices, or 

the MUTCD. The 

MUTCD sets the 

standard for all 

traffic control devices such as signs, pavement 

markings and signals used on roadways open to 

public travel. 

When traffic control devices for the crossing don’t 

meet current standards, you are required to 

expand the scope of the project in order to include 

all approaches to 

the crossing and 

install new devices 

meeting the current 

MUTCD 

requirements. 
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

When any of the following special conditions 

exist, you may also be required to install 

automatic gates with flashing light signals at the 

crossing. These conditions include: 

• When multiple tracks either approach or 

are a part of the railroad crossing

• When there are high volumes of auto or 

train traffic

• When there are high volumes of either 

trucks carrying hazardous materials or 

school buses; when high speed trains 

are combined with limited sight 

distances

• When high speed trains are combined 

with considerable highway or rail traffic

• When unusually restricted sight distance 

exists for the crossing

• If frequent crashes have occurred

• When a diagnostic team has 

recommended an improvement

In isolated cases, a diagnostic team of 

knowledgeable 

representatives with an 

interest in the crossing 

may determine gates with 

flashing light signals are 

not appropriate. The 

determination needs to be 

provided to the Federal 

Highway Administration 

(FHWA) by your State 

DOT in order to receive approval for waiving this 

requirement. For example, consider a crossing 

where the track is no longer in service, but a

high volume of school buses is present due to a 

nearby school. It is likely that a diagnostic team 

would determine that gates and flashing light 

signals are not appropriate in this situation. 

When improvements to the warning devices for 

a crossing are necessary, Federal regulation 

prohibits the crossing from being opened to 

unrestricted traffic until an adequate warning 

system has been installed and is functioning 

properly. It’s important you address these 

situations as early in project development as 

possible to avoid delays to your project. 

As you develop your 

Federal-aid project, 

consider the following 

coordination strategies: 

• Identify any 

railroad facilities 

within or near 

the limits of your project and determine 

if construction activities will affect the 

facility. Coordinate with the appropriate 

railroad operator when applicable. 

• Assess the adequacy of existing traffic 

control devices for railroad crossings 

within or near the limits of the project. 

When improvements to traffic control or 

warning devices for a crossing are 

required, make sure to incorporate them 

into your project. 

• Coordinate with the railroad company 

just as you would with a utility to 

determine what special requirements 

they may have during construction. This 

may include providing liability insurance, 

monitoring or hiring a flagger to be 

present to help construction run more 

smoothly. 

After completing the 

design work, every 

Federal-aid project must 

reach a major milestone 

before construction can 

be authorized. This 

milestone is the approval 

of your project’s plans, 

specifications and 

estimates more commonly referred to as a 

PS&E. A railroad certification is required to be 

submitted with your project’s PS&E, confirming 

the appropriate railroad coordination has taken 

place. A project railroad certification should 

address one of three possible circumstances: 
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

• No railroad facilities will be affected 

by the project. This is appropriate for 

projects that won’t have an effect on any 

railroad facilities during construction. 

• All railroad work will be completed 

prior to the start of construction. This 

is appropriate when railroad work is 

necessary, and will be completed prior 

to the start of construction. 

• Arrangements are in place to have 

railroad work undertaken during 

construction. In this circumstance, you 

must also indicate as part of your 

certification that appropriate notification 

will be included in the bid proposal 

notifying all prospective bidders of any 

railroad work that will occur concurrently 

with the project construction. 

Remember, if an at-grade railroad crossing is 

located either within or near the limits of a 

Federal-aid project, then you may be required to 

improve the safety of the crossing. This is 

accomplished by installing adequate warning 

devices, even if it is not part of the original scope 

of your project. You must also submit a railroad 

certification for all Federal-aid projects prior to 

construction. 

Providing a railroad certification shows that you 

have taken steps to prevent costly and 

unnecessary delays to construction and avoid a 

dangerous situation from occurring. Your State 

DOT can help you determining whether a 

crossing near or within your project limits must 

be addressed. Remember to coordinate early 

and provide the project railroad certification so 

you can help avoid problems during construction 

and keep your project on track.
Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

• Information regarding utility-related topics

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/utility.cfm

• Federal regulations that apply to all Federal-aid highway projects prior to 

authorizing construction

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi/t/text/textidx?c=ecfr&sid=2aa9ff7d3b3c1b8c415078d3cd51d448&rgn=div5&view=text&

node=23:1.0.1.7.23&idno=23#23:1.0.1.7.23.3

• Utility regulations on Federal-aid projects

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi/t/text/textidx?c=ecfr&sid=d2af04bfbc8dbf21acc92526bb603be4&rgn=div5&view=text&n

ode=23:1.0.1.7.27&idno=23#23:1.0.1.7.27.2

• Guidance covering broad range of utility-related requirements

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/utilguid/

Additional Resources

The content of this 

document is not a 

substitute for information 

obtained from State 

departments of 

transportation, 

appropriate FHWA 

Division Offices, and 

applicable laws. Scenarios 

have been simplified for 

emphasis and do not 

necessarily reflect the 

actual range of 

requirements applicable 

to the scenario or this 

topic. This document was 

created under contract 

number DTFH61-11-D00024 by the Federal 

Highway Administration, 

U.S. Department of 

Transportation, and is 

offered to the public to 

heighten and focus 

awareness of Federal-aid 

requirements within the 

local public agencies 

community and 

reinforces the importance 

of these necessary 

policies, procedures, and 

practices.

This companion resource 

is the script content for 

the video production of 

the same name.