One of the things I hope to do in this blog is help people see potential pitfalls in the local programs world, before they end up stepping into them. High on my list of things that will add complexity and cost very quickly to a project is any sort of rail road (R/R) involvement.
I want to stress, up front that I am not the R/R expert at TDOT (or in any way for that matter). That title goes to Jim Byrd of TDOT Utilities here in Nashville. If your project has R/R involvement, and is getting funding by, or through TDOT, you will be talking to him. Jim is a great guy and REALLY knows his stuff. He will lay it all out on how things work.
Now what does R/R “involvement” mean. Does the project come within 200 feet of the R/R or a crossing. Then it is involved.
Here is where it can get tricky though. Lets say your project is beyond the 200 foot threshold, but is somehow changing the drainage of that area as it goes under the R/R. Yep, you guessed it now you have to get the R/R involved. There are several other ways where they must get involved.
If it is even in the area, give Jim Byrd a call, just to make sure.
Please keep in mind that if the R/R is involved there is no way to shortcut the system. There are some hard core Federal laws involved, like the Shanklin Act that come into play. Additionally, you don’t want to make or do something that is unsafe for the road or rail users.
The point of this is that either you pick projects that you avoid R/R issues, or you understand going in that they are going to involve extra time to get agreements set up with the R/R and extra expense.
The people of Shelby County have a project with MASSIVE R/R involvement with their Fite Road project. But they (Micheal Oaks the County Engineer, and Daren Sanders the Assistant County Engineer) went into this strategically important project with their eyes wide open, and are doing a great job of handling the many R/R issues there.
If you want to talk with someone out in the local programs world about the importance of doing things right when it comes to the R/R give Michael and Daren a call (they will also probably tell you to call Jim Byrd too).
I hope that this quick post helps you better understand the process.
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