Memorandum

Subject: ACTION: Railway-Highway Crossings 

Program Reporting Guidance (Effective 

date: October 1, 2021)

Date: May 23, 2022 

From: Cheryl J. Walker In Reply Refer To:

Associate Administrator, Office of Safety HSSP

To: Division Administrators

Purpose

This memorandum provides guidance to clarify the reporting requirements for States in title 23, 

United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 130. This guidance reflects the railway-highway crossings 

program reporting requirements under the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” (BIL), enacted as the 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Pub. L. 117-58 (Nov. 15, 2021), and Part 924 of 

title 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations (23 CFR Part 924). This guidance also incorporates 

FHWA priorities, consistent with the Policy on Using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Resources 

to Build a Better America, dated December 16, 2021. The Railway-Highway Crossings Program 

(referred to as “Section 130”) requirements within the BIL took effect on October 1, 2021 and

apply to all related funding obligated on or after that date, whether carryover or new. This 

guidance replaces the “Guidance on 23 U.S.C. 130 Annual Reporting Requirements for RailwayHighway Crossings,” dated May 5, 2006, and February 22, 2013. 

Except for the statutes and regulations cited, the contents of this document do not have the force 

and effect of law and are not meant to bind the States or the public in any way. This document is 

intended only to provide information regarding existing requirements under the law or agency 

policies.

Background 

Section 130(g) of title 23, U.S.C. requires each State to submit an annual report to the 

Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on the progress being made to 

implement the railway-highway crossings program, the effectiveness of such improvements, an 

assessment of the costs of the various treatments employed, and the effectiveness of such 

treatment at improved locations. This will be referred to as the “Railway-Highway Crossings 

Report.” In addition, 23 U.S.C. 148(h)(1)(C) requires States to submit to the Secretary of 

Transportation a report that describes how improvements contributed to reducing fatalities and 

serious injuries at railway-highway crossings. The FHWA recommends that this information be 

included in the Railway-Highway Crossings Report, rather than submitting the information in a 

separate report.
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The annual Railway-Highway Crossings Report provides information on how well State and 

Federal goals of the railway-highway crossings program are being met. This information is 

collated for many types of reporting documents and by many types of stakeholder groups at the 

National, State, and local levels. States are also encouraged to coordinate Section 130 efforts 

with their State Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Actions Plans submitted to the Federal Railroad 

Administration.

Section 130(k) allows the expenditure of up to eight percent of funds apportioned to a State to 

carry out Section 130 for the compilation and analysis of data in support of the reporting 

activities. For example, a State that is apportioned $10,000,000 in a FY for Section 130 can use 

up to $800,000 of Section 130 funds for the compilation and analysis of data for reporting 

activities. 

Summary of Guidance

The Railway-Highway Crossings Program reporting guidance provides information on the 

reporting frequency and schedule, content and structure of the report, and protection of data from 

discovery and admission into evidence. FHWA also supports the vision of zero deaths and 

serious injuries on the Nation’s roadway system. As with highway safety improvement projects 

(23 U.S.C. 148(c)(2)(B)(iv)), railway-highway crossing projects should be identified based on 

crash experience, crash potential, crash rate, or other data-supported means. The general 

framework for the identification and analysis of railway-highway crossing safety problems and 

countermeasure opportunities includes analysis of safety data trends for at least the last 5 years to 

identify problems, countermeasure identification to effectively address the identified problems, 

project prioritization and implementation, and evaluation of both projects and the overall 

program (23 U.S.C. 148(c)(2)). Each State must also identify railway-highway crossings that 

require separation, relocation, or protective devices, and establish and implement a schedule 

of those projects (23 U.S.C. 130(d)).

1. Reporting Frequency and Schedule

Pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 130(g)(1) and 23 CFR 924.15(a)(2), States shall submit their annual 

Railway-Highway Crossings Report electronically to the FHWA Division Administrator by 

August 31 each year, in conjunction with the annual Highway Safety Improvement Program 

(HSIP) report required under 23 U.S.C. 148(h).

The HSIP online reporting tool fully supports the information necessary to complete this annual 

requirement. States that report on their Railway-Highway Crossings Program via the online 

reporting tool will meet the annual requirement. Additional information is available on the Office 

of Safety website at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/resources/onrpttool/. The report template 

included in the Attachment reflects the online reporting tool content.

2. Content and Structure of the Report
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Section 130(g) of title 23, U.S.C. requires a measure of the effectiveness of the improvements

made as a result of the implementation of the Railway-Highway Crossings Program. A State 

should define the effectiveness in terms of the number of fatalities and serious injuries after the 

improvement was completed. At a minimum, the Railway-Highway Crossings Report should 

include the following information:

A. Program Structure

i. Provide an Executive Summary of the overall Section 130 program administration and 

results.

ii. Identify the reporting period used by the State. This could be based on the calendar year, 

State fiscal year, or Federal fiscal year. The reporting period should be consistent for a 

State from year to year.

iii. Describe the overall process of how Section 130 funds are administered in the State. This 

section should cover broad topics such as: 

a. Describe how the funds are distributed and administered in the State (such as 

centralized administration or de-centralized administration through district or 

regional offices).

b. Describe the method(s) for project selection.

c. Describe the method(s) used to measure effectiveness of the projects and 

program. Consideration should be given to quantifying effectiveness in the 

context of fatalities and serious injuries, per 23 U.S.C. 148(h). 

d. Describe any noteworthy efforts the State has used to effectively deliver a 

successful program.

iv. Identify the obligations for data acquisition and analysis efforts if Section 130 funds are 

utilized for this purpose (Note: This is limited to 8 percent of the funds apportioned to the 

State under Section 130).

v. Provide the total number of public crossings within the State, including the type of 

crossing protection (active, passive, and grade separated). 

vi. Provide the specific program emphasis areas, and if necessary, include a discussion of 

significant variations from previous reports. 

vii. Provide an assessment of overall Section 130 program effectiveness including 5-year 

average fatality and serious injury data for the last five years, evaluation results, and how 

results are used to improve the Section 130 program. 

B. Project Metrics

This section provides a list of all the projects obligated using Section 130 funds during this 

reporting period and an evaluation of previously completed projects.

i. Project listing. The following information should be provided for all projects obligated 

during this reporting period:

a. Location of projects; 

b. USDOT crossing numbers;

c. FHWA roadway functional classification;

d. Specific project type and description (see project groupings below);
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e. Crossing protection (active, passive);

f. Crossing type (for example: vehicle, pedestrian, etc.);

g. Cost of project including Federal share; and

h. Funding types (Section 130 or other). 

ii. Previously completed projects. The following information should be provided to evaluate

previously completed projects:

a. Location of projects;

b. USDOT crossing numbers;

c. FHWA roadway functional classification;

d. Specific project type and description (see project groupings below);

e. Crossing protection (active, passive);

f. Crossing type (for example: vehicle, pedestrian, etc.);

g. Cost of project including Federal share;

h. Funding types (Section 130 or other);

i. Crash data (show a minimum of 3 years before and up to 3 years after project 

completion); and

j. Effectiveness of prior year projects. 

The project listings and previously completed projects should be grouped by the type of 

improvement: 

• Crossing Approach Improvements - Projects such as channelization, new or upgraded 

signals on the approach (not including the active grade crossing signals), guardrail, 

pedestrian/bicycle path improvements near the crossing, and illumination.

• Crossing Warning Sign and Pavement Marking Improvements - Projects such as 

signs, pavement markings, and/or delineation where these project activities are the 

predominant safety improvements.

• Active Grade Crossing Equipment Installation/Upgrade - Projects such as new or 

upgraded flashing lights and gates, track circuitry, wayside horns, and signal 

improvements such as railway-highway signal interconnection and pre-emption, 

including projects to replace functionally obsolete rail-highway safety equipment. 

• Visibility Improvements - Projects such as sight distance improvements and vegetation 

clearance.

• Roadway Geometry Improvements - Projects such as roadway horizontal and/or 

vertical alignment, sight distance, and elimination of high-profile ("humped") crossings.

• Grade Crossing Elimination - Projects such as crossing elimination through closure, 

relocation, or construction/reconstruction of a grade separation structure, including to 

eliminate hazards posed by blocked crossings due to idling trains. 

• Crossing Inventory Update - Projects such as efforts to update and manage the railwayhighway grade crossing inventory and development of a Web-based inventory.

3. Protection of Data from Discovery & Admission Evidence

Section 407 of title 23 U.S.C. states that reports, surveys, schedules, lists, or data compiled or 

collected for the purpose of identifying, evaluating, or planning the safety enhancement of 
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railway-highway crossings pursuant to Section 130 shall not be subject to discovery or admitted 

into evidence in a Federal or State court proceeding or considered for other purposes in an action 

for damages arising from any occurrence at a location mentioned or addressed in such reports, 

surveys, schedules, lists, or data.

Questions

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Kelly Morton (202-366-

8090 or kelly.morton@dot.gov) or Esther Strawder (202-366-6836 or esther.strawder@dot.gov). 

Attachment: Report Template

cc: Directors of Field Services

Safety Field 

HCC

HCF

HPL
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Attachment: Report Template1

A. PROGRAM STRUCTURE

1. State

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2. Executive Summary

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3. Identify the reporting period used by the state.

[] Calendar Year: Jan. 1 to Dec. 31

[] Federal Fiscal Year: Oct. 1 to Sept. 30

[] State Fiscal Year: enter text here 

4. Describe the overall process of how Section 130 funds are administered in the 

State.

enter text here

a. Describe how funds are distributed and administered in the State.

[] Centralized Administration

[] De-centralized administration through district or regional offices

b. Describe the method(s) used for project selection.

enter text here

c. Describe the method(s) used to measure effectiveness (in terms of 

reducing fatalities and serious injuries) of the projects and program.

enter text here

d. Describe any noteworthy efforts the State has used to effectively 

deliver a successful program.

enter text here

1 This information collection has been assigned OMB control number 2125-0025 under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act.
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5. Identify the obligations for data acquisition and analysis efforts. This amount 

is limited to 8 percent of the annual Section 130 apportionment.

enter text here

6. Provide the total number of public crossings within the State, including the 

type of crossing protection.

Crossing type Number of Crossings

At-Grade Active Warning Devices

At-Grade Passive Warning Devices

Grade-Separated RR Under Road

Grade-Separated RR Over Road

Non-Motorized Active Warning Devices

Non-Motorized Passive Warning Devices

Non-motorized Active and Passive Crossings are a subset of the total and include 

public pathways, shared use paths and trails but not sidewalks that are part of a 

roadway crossing.

7. Provide the specific program emphasis areas, and if necessary, a discussion 

of significant variations from previous reports.

enter text here

8. Provide an assessment of overall Section 130 program effectiveness including 

evaluation results and how results are used to improve the Section 130 

program. 

enter text here

9. Provide performance measure data including fatalities and serious injuries 

for the last five years at railway-highway crossings.

enter text here
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B. PROJECT METRICS

1. Project Listing

Location USDOT 

Crossing 

Number

FHWA 

Roadway 

Functional 

Classification

Project Type 

(See 

Grouping 

Table below)

Crossing 

Protection 

(Active or 

Passive)

Crossing Type 

(Vehicle, 

Pedestrian, 

etc)

Cost Federal 

Share

Funding 

Type 

(Section 

130 or 

other)

 

 

2. Previously Completed Projects

Location USDOT 

Crossing 

Number

FHWA 

Roadway 

Functional 

Classification

Project 

Type (See 

Grouping 

Table 

below)

Crossing 

Protection 

(Active or 

Passive)

Crossing 

Type 

(Vehicle, 

Pedestrian, etc)

Cost Federal 

Share

Funding 

Type 

(Section 

130 or 

other)

Crash 

Data

Effectiveness of 

prior year 

projects 

 

Project listing should be grouped by the following types of improvements

2. Crossing Approach Improvements - Projects such as channelization, new or upgraded signals on the approach (not 

including the active grade crossing signals), guardrail, pedestrian/bicycle path improvements near the crossing, and 

illumination.

3. Crossing Warning Sign and Pavement Marking Improvements - Projects such as signs, pavement markings and/or 

delineation where these project activities are the predominant safety improvements.
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4. Active Grade Crossing Equipment Installation/Upgrade - Projects such as new or upgraded flashing lights and 

gates, track circuitry, wayside horns, and signal improvements such as railway-highway signal interconnection and preemption, including projects to replace functionally obsolete rail-highway safety equipment. 

5. Visibility Improvements - Projects such as sight distance improvements and vegetation clearance.

6. Roadway Geometry Improvements - Projects such as roadway horizontal and/or vertical alignment, sight distance, 

and elimination of high-profile ("humped") crossings.

7. Grade Crossing Elimination - Projects such as crossing elimination through closure, relocation, or 

construction/reconstruction of a grade separation structure, including to eliminate hazards posed by blocked crossings 

due to idling trains. 

8. Crossing Inventory Update - Projects such as efforts to update and manage the railway- highway grade crossing 

inventory and development of a Web-based inventory.