Assessment of Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing Strategies, Countermeasures, and Technologies to Improve Traffic Safety and Mobility in Florida

Details

• Creators:
  Lin, Pei-Sung ; Wang, Zhenyu ; Kolla, Rama Durga Tammayya Naidu ; Bialkowska-Jelinska, Elzbieta ; Alluri, Priyanka ; Soltaninejad, Mostafa
• Corporate Creators:
  University of South Florida. Center for Urban Transportation Research
• Corporate Contributors:
  Florida. Department of Transportation. Research Center
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Countermeasures Highway Safety Intelligent Transportation Systems Mobility Railroad Grade Crossings Strategic Planning Technological Innovations
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Florida ; United States
• Edition:
  Final Report, July/2022–February/2024
• Corporate Publisher:
  Florida Department of Transportation
• Abstract:
  Highway-rail grade crossings (HRGCs) are conflict areas for trains and road users, which present a significant safety concern in Florida. The HRGCs not only affect safety but also have a significant impact on traffic operations. FDOT explored several strategies to improve safety and mobility related to railroad grade crossings, including signage, pavement markings, quadrant gates, and traffic signal preemptions and pre-preemptions, several of which have been implemented by various FDOT districts. This research effort aimed to identify and evaluate traditional countermeasures, Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSM&O) strategies and ITS technologies, and provide findings and recommendations to improve safety and mobility at HRGCs in Florida. The specific objectives were to: (1) understand safety issues and factors contributing to fatalities and serious crashes at HRGCs; (2) assess the implementation of RDE pavement markings and associated signs at state-owned HRGCs in Florida; (3) investigate the effectiveness of various traditional countermeasures, TSM&O strategies, and ITS technologies to improve safety and mobility at HRGCs; (4) examine and provide a list of HRGCs needed for special treatments and recommend treatments; and (5) provide best practices, analysis results, research findings, and recommendations to FDOT to effectively improve safety and mobility at HRGCs in Florida. The research team conducted four major research tasks, including (1) a comprehensive literature review, (2) detailed HRGC crash analysis, (3) statewide agency interviews, and (4) field visits of HRGCs with high priorities for improvement. By summarizing the research findings from the four tasks, the research team produced project outcomes, including identified contributing factors, effective traditional countermeasures, ITS and TSM&O strategies, technologies, best practices, prioritized specific treatments, and recommendations to improve safety and mobility at Florida HRGCs. The results show that HRGCs in Florida experience four major safety and mobility challenges: (1) vehicles frequently stopped on tracks, (2) wrong turns onto railroad tracks, (3) motorist driving behaviors to “beat” a train or go around lowered gates, and (4) pedestrian trespassing behaviors at and near HRGC locations. To address the challenges, the research team developed recommendations to improve safety and mobility of HRGCs, including traditional countermeasures, ITS and TSM&O strategies, and emerging technologies. The assessment and recommendations for the Florida Operation STRIDE (Statewide Traffic and Railroad Initiative using Dynamic Envelopes) implementation were also provided.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  BED25-977-08
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:18bcdc6c0d0a99cd9251343226a6c5a1774c264863fa448d41042b77532cfffce5d90597497af4b592a282f5fd25326fcf97987e8a38d781bfd9fb719786936a
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/86209/dot_86209_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.31 MB ]