North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 19A - TRANSPORTATION › Chapter 02 - DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS › Subchapter B - HIGHWAY PLANNING › Section .0100 - RIGHT OF WAY › Section 02B .0153 - NEW AT-GRADE CROSSING

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) It shall be
				  unlawful to construct a railroad track across any portion of the State highway
				  system without the Secretary of Transportation or the Secretary's designee
				  providing a written statement of approval. The Secretary or designee's
				  determination shall consider rail crossing engineering standards for safety,
				  location, sight lines, traffic volume, grade, horizontal alignment, curvature,
				  cant and the number of traffic lanes.
(b) A crossing agreement shall be required
				  for any construction or relocation of railroad track across the State highway
				  system, and any construction or relocation of the State highway system across
				  already existing railroad track. The crossing agreement shall list the
				  construction, maintenance, safety device installation, and funding
				  responsibilities of each party.
(c)
				  Where the construction of a new road or the relocation of an existing road
				  involves an additional or a new crossing and does not involve the elimination
				  of an existing crossing, the railroad shall not be required to bear any costs
				  of signalization or separation, either at the time of the initial construction
				  or within a 20-year period from the execution of the Crossing Agreement if the
				  Department determines during that 20-year period that a signalization or a
				  separation structure shall be required.
(d) If a crossing in existence prior to
				  December 3, 1966 shall be eliminated by the relocation of an existing road,
				  Rule .0155 of this Section shall apply.
(e) The following shall be required for the
				  construction of a new municipal street across an already existing railroad
				  track, or railroad tracks across the municipal street system.
(1) If a municipality and railroad seek to
				  enter into an agreement for the construction of a new municipal street, meaning
				  a street forming a part of the municipal street system consisting of those
				  streets or highways that are not a part of the State highway system, across a
				  railroad track, at-grade, the municipality or public authority responsible for
				  the maintenance, construction, reconstruction, and right-of-way acquisition for
				  the municipal street system shall provide the Rail Division Director with
				  60-days' notice prior to the execution of the agreement. If the municipality
				  anticipates there to be less than 60 days between the negotiations and
				  execution of the agreement, the municipality shall notify the Director upon
				  commencement of agreement negotiations.
(2) If a municipality and railroad seek to
				  enter into an agreement for the construction of a new railroad track across the
				  municipal street system, at-grade, the municipality or public authority
				  responsible for the maintenance, construction, reconstruction, and right-of-way
				  acquisition for the municipal street system shall provide the Rail Division
				  Director with 60-days' notice prior to the execution of the agreement. If the
				  municipality anticipates there to be less than 60 days between the negotiations
				  and execution of the agreement, the municipality shall notify the Director upon
				  commencement of agreement negotiations.
(3) If a private developer and a railroad
				  seek to enter into an agreement for the construction of a railroad track across
				  the municipal street system, at-grade, or a new municipal street across a
				  railroad track, at-grade, the private developer shall provide the Rail Division
				  Director with 60-days' notice prior to the execution of the agreement. If the
				  private developer anticipates there to be less than 60 days between the
				  negotiations and execution of the agreement, the private developer shall notify
				  the Director upon commencement of agreement negotiations.
(4) Notice shall be in writing and shall be
				  effective upon receipt by the Rail Division Director. Notice may be delivered
				  personally, by email, sent by overnight courier with recipient's signature or
				  other electronic acknowledgement of receipt from the recipient requested, or by
				  certified or registered mail, postage prepaid. Please address all physical
				  copies of the required notice to the Rail Division Director at 1553 Mail
				  Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1553. The Rail Division Director's email
				  address may be found, free of charge, at
https://apps.ncdot.gov/dot/directory/authenticated/UnitPage.aspx?id=3393
.
(5) Notice shall include the following
				  information:
(A) the name, address, telephone
				  number, and email address of the entity submitting the notice;
(B) a description of the anticipated
				  crossing, including whether the agreement is for the construction of a railroad
				  track across the municipal street system, or the construction of a municipal
				  street across an already existing railroad track;
(C) the county, city, or political
				  subdivision where the crossing will be located;
(D) the railroad milepost number, if an
				  already existing railroad track; and
(E) the State maintained road number or name,
				  if an already existing road.