Alaska Administrative Code › Title 17 - Transportation and Public Facilities › Chapter 15 - Utility and Railroad Permits › Article 4 - Railroads › 17 AAC 15.481 - Railroad accommodation policy

Current through May 31, 2024
(a) Grade
				separation is required for all railroad crossings on controlled-access
				highways. At-grade railroad crossings on rural highways and roads, and urban
				highways and streets will normally be allowed. However, the department will, in
				its discretion, require grade separation where warranted by conditions of
				topography and traffic density.
(b)
				A railroad crossing on a highway with defined shoulders may not be less than
				the full width of the highway including its defined shoulders. A railroad
				crossing on a rural highway with undefined shoulders must extend a minimum of
				five feet beyond the traveled portion of the highway. The surface of the
				highway must be in the same plane as the top of the rails for a distance of two
				feet outside of the rails for either multiple- or single-track
				crossings.
(c) The intersection of
				the highway alignment and the railroad track must be as nearly perpendicular as
				practicable.
(d) A railroad/highway
				crossing sign (crossbuck) must be installed on the right-hand side of the
				roadway on each approach to any crossing, except when, in the discretion of the
				department, it is determined that local conditions require an alternate
				location. Where railroad/highway crossing signals are used, the crossbuck must
				be an integral part of the signal assembly. A supplemental sign indicating the
				number of tracks must be used where there are two or more sets of tracks at the
				crossing.
(e) The department will,
				in its discretion, require railroad crossing signals which indicate the
				approach or presence of trains to be installed at those railroad crossings
				where there is a need for protection beyond that provided by signs. On
				multiple-lane highways, cantilever-mounted signals will, in the discretion of
				the department, be required. For railroad crossings at highway intersections,
				additional signal-light units may be used to supplement the normal complement
				of lights. At crossings where multiple train movements may occur simultaneously
				or at crossings in congested urban areas, the use of gates will, in the
				discretion of the department, be required.
(f) Supports for post-mounted signal heads at
				the side of a street with curbs must have a horizontal clearance of not less
				than two feet from the face of the vertical curb. Where there is no curb,
				supports for post-mounted signal heads must have a horizontal clearance of not
				less than two feet from the edge of the shoulder, and must have a minimum
				clearance of six feet from the edge of the traveled way. Where there is no curb
				or shoulder, the minimum horizontal clearance must be six feet from the edge of
				the traveled way. All portions of signals and supports which extend over the
				roadway must have a vertical clearance of not less than 17 feet above the
				roadway surface.
(g) The
				department's chief bridge engineer is responsible for approving clearances
				proposed for new grade separation structures or for modifications of existing
				grade separation structures.
(h)
				All railroad signs and signals must conform to the requirements of the
Alaska Traffic Manual
, 2005, described in
				17 AAC 20.950(1),
				and adopted by reference, or the special provisions of a railroad permit issued
				under 17 AAC 15.471 relating to vertical
				clearances of signs and signals over highways or other highway-related
				facilities such as bike paths, pathways, and sidewalks.
(i) Railroad communication, electric power,
				pipeline, and drainage facilities installed in the department rights-of-way
				must be installed in accordance with
				17 AAC 15.120 -
				17 AAC 15.301.
Copies of the Alaska Traffic Manual, adopted by reference
					 in 17 AAC 15.481 are available for
					 inspection at regional offices of the Department of Transportation and Public
					 Facilities located at Juneau, Anchorage, and Fairbanks, Alaska. The Alaska
					 Traffic Manual also may be viewed through the department's Internet website at
					 http://www.dot.state.ak.us/stwddes/dcstraffic/resources.shtml.
Authority:
AS
					 19.05.020
AS 19.05.040
AS 19.10.040
AS 19.10.050
AS 19.20.030
AS 19.20.050
AS 19.25.010
AS 19.25.200
AS 19.30.121
AS
					 19.40.065