RHCP IN 2021

In 2021

States 

allocated $332 

million to fund 

projects that 

eliminate hazards 

at railway-highway 

crossings.

THE HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (HSIP) 2021

1 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS): 2006-2019 Final File and 2020 Annual Report File (ARF), report generated August 16, 2022, https://cdan.dot.gov/query.

2 FHWA, “Railway-Highway Crossings (Section 130) Program” (July 2022), https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/xings/.

Washington and California represented the largest 

percentage of RHCP funds obligated to railwayhighway crossing safety.

In 2021, States obligated more than $332 million 

in RHCP funds for 1,198 projects that made safety 

improvements at railway-highway crossings. 

The most common project type was the installation of 

active grade-crossing equipment (71 percent).

WHAT TYPES OF PROJECTS 

DID RHCP FUND?

1% 

Crossing Inventory Update

$725,600 average cost

2% 

Roadway Geometry 

Improvements

$1.1 Million average cost

4% 

Grade Crossing Elimination

$420,700 average cost

6% 

Crossing Warning Sign 

and Pavement Marking 

Improvements

$412,400 average cost

14% 

Crossing Approach 

Improvements

$288,700 average cost

71% 

Active Grade-Crossing Equipment 

Installation/Upgrade

$317,000 average cost

6% 

Not Specified

0.3% 

Visibility Improvements

$182,600 average cost

RHCP funded 45 projects that eliminated grade 

crossings, with a total cost of $47 million, and 854 

projects that installed or upgraded active grade 

crossing equipment, with a total cost of $265 million.

States also obligated more than $21 million in HSIP 

funds on railway-highway crossing safety projects. 

HSIP Supports Safer Railway-Highway Crossings

Funding Rail Crossing Safety Improvements

In 2020, there were 163 fatal vehicle crashes at railway grade crossings.1 The 

Railway-Highway Crossings Program (RHCP) works to improve safety by funding 

projects that eliminate hazards at these crossings. Crossings improved by 

RHCP have seen fatalities decrease by 32 percent from 2000 to 2019.2

RHCP is funded through a set-aside using a legislative formula. The Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. 117-58, also known as the "Bipartisan 

Infrastructure Law" [BIL]) set aside $245 million annually from fiscal years 2022–2026 

for the RHCP. Program funds are available for projects at all public crossings, including 

projects on roadways, bike trails, pedestrian paths, and on at-grade crossings that 

eliminate hazards caused by idling trains blocking the crossings. The BIL raised the 

Federal share for these funds to 100 percent and no longer requires a local match. 

For more information on eligibility and guidance, visit 

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/xings/#policy.
To find out how RHCP can 

help save lives in your 

community, contact your 

State DOT:

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/

about/webstate.cfm

Have an RHCP success story? Share your projects on Facebook, 

Twitter, and Instagram with #HSIPSavesLives.

FHWA-SA-22-076

3 FHWA, Railway-Highway Crossings (Section 130) Program, “Noteworthy Practice: Empowering the Community to Achieve Consensus: Rail Corridor Crossing Consolidation and Safety 

Improvement Project in Missouri” (November 2019), https://highways.dot.gov/safety/hsip/xings/empowering-community-achieve-consensus.

RHCP in Action

WHERE WERE RHCP 

PROJECTS LOCATED?

45% 

Rural

44% 

Urban

2% 8% Not Specified Multiple/Varies

7% 

Multiple/Varies

2% 

Principal Arterial-Other 

Freeways & Expressways

19% 

Major Collector

8% 

Principal ArterialOther

8% 

Minor Collector

2% 

Not Specified

12% 

Minor Arterial

WHAT TYPES OF ROADS WERE 

RHCP PROJECTS ON?

41% 

Local Road or Street

Rail Corridor Crossing Consolidation and Safety Improvement

MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (MODOT) AND BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY

In 2017, MoDOT studied a 19-mile rural corridor with 29 at-grade crossings in Southwest Missouri. With 62 incidents 

since 1975, the corridor had one of the highest incident rates in the State. Rail incidents had killed 14 people and injured 

another 19. Many community members used these crossings to access other parts of their town and were initially 

resistant to calls to close crossings.

After an extensive study and community engagement effort to build consensus, MoDOT partnered with BNSF Railway 

Company to prioritize a corridor project that included five crossing closures and four crossing upgrades. With the help 

of RHCP funding, the corridor expects to see 23 fewer crashes, including 1.41 fewer fatal crashes and 7 fewer injury 

crashes, over a 25-year period.3

Rail Crossing 

Incidents, 

Including 14 

Fatalities

PROBLEM

RHCP Projects by Location

Crossing 

Closures & 

Upgrades

SOLUTION RESULT

Expect 23 

Fewer Crashes

Percent of Total RHCP Projects

Location

LEGEND