GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF SELECTED ACTIVE TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES AT RAILROAD-HIGHWAY GRADE CROSSINGS (WITH DISCUSSION AND CLOSURE)

Guidelines for selecting and installing active traffic control devices are beneficial to the practicing engineer who has responsibility for field installation and operation. This paper reports on a portion of the field installation and evaluation of two active traffic control devices for use at railroad-highway grade crossings. As a result, guidelines were developed for the use of a four-quadrant gate system and a highway traffic signal system for use at selected railroad-highway grade crossings. The characteristics of crossings that would be conducive to the use of a four-quadrant gate system and a highway traffic signal system were defined, with the objective of improving safety for the traveling public at the crossings. A four-quadrant gate system should be viewed as being between a standard gate system and a grade-separated crossing in terms of providing a level of safety to the traveling public. There are railroad-highway grade crossings that would not be economically feasible to grade separate, but a four-quadrant gate system would be cost-effective. Similarly, there are specific types of crossings that would receive a higher level of safety with the use of a highway traffic signal system and the upgrade would be cost-effective. The guidelines presented address the characteristics of the different types of crossings that would be appropriately served by these two active traffic control systems.