Strategies for improving the project agreement process between highway agencies and railroads

Examines five broad areas of performance including transportation, environment, economics, community, and cost. North American railroads and public highway departments interact thousands of times annually as the highway agencies conduct projects that cross over, under, or parallel to the railways. Each interaction requires a thorough review of the safety, engineering, and operating effects that the project will have on the railroad during construction and for decades thereafter. Although most of these reviews and agreements proceed smoothly, both the highway agencies and the railroads agree that delays and problems occur routinely. These delays can cause important highway projects to increase in cost, and they can consume valuable staff and engineering resources by all parties. The focus of this project is to provide recommended standard agreements, standard processes, and best practices that can help both sides reduce the time and cost of project reviews. To succeed, each must understand the basic needs of the other and both must have common languages, practices, standards, and expectations.