Railroad crossings that SHOULD be grade separated

[tolbs17]

Here's a map.

http://prntscr.com/10nnw3p

Just some unnecessary waiting and noise. Like there's so many at-grade rail crossings in Greenville. What is the purpose. lol

[Max Rockatansky]

The problem is overpasses and rail subways are way more expensive than a standard at-grade crossing.  One for sure that I would love to see go away is at-grade crossing at Shaw Avenue and North Golden State Boulevard in Fresno.  Seemingly the HSR will eventually construct a modern overpass at some point.

[SkyPesos]

The Eglington Crosstown LRT in Toronto haven't opened yet, but I've seen criticism on some Toronto transit forums that this crossing should've been grade separated, as the only at-grade crossing on the LRT for a long length.

[roadman65]

Florida Highway 112 near Miami Airport. However raising the height of the freeway would compromise air traffic above and require an extension of the runway which is impossible. The other alternative is to bring the freeway below grade, which in Florida is also hard to do given its low water table below.

So now leave for your flight an hour sooner, to avoid a long slow moving train, as this is just like US 90 & 301 in Baldwin, FL with 20 or more minutes wait time from front to end.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Hammond Ave in Superior, WI. This is the road 535 dumps into coming from Duluth and between the railroad and the intersection spacing around it it creates some major headaches.

[rickmastfan67]

The Eglington Crosstown LRT in Toronto haven't opened yet, but I've seen criticism on some Toronto transit forums that this crossing should've been grade separated, as the only at-grade crossing on the LRT for a long length.

Honestly, I think their hands were tied to make that at-grade due to the bridge there for Eglington over the valley.

[dlsterner]

... as this is just like US 90 & 301 in Baldwin, FL with 20 or more minutes wait time from front to end.

I was on one trip where I had to endure that stop twice (getting there, and also on my return trip)     So glad to see last December that the US 301 bypass in Baldwin had been opened.

[dvferyance]

Moreland Blvd in Waukesha no doubt. When the train comes backups are insane.

[sparker]

The problem is overpasses and rail subways are way more expensive than a standard at-grade crossing.  One for sure that I would love to see go away is at-grade crossing at Shaw Avenue and North Golden State Boulevard in Fresno.  Seemingly the HSR will eventually construct a modern overpass at some point.

Unfortunately, the UP grade crossing at Shaw will remain, with the HSR overcrossing adjacent to it.  Since that UP line hosts about a dozen freight trains in each direction per day (that RR's main SoCal-NorCal line), unless a grade separation is also built there, the delays along Shaw won't be ameliorated at all. 

[Max Rockatansky]

The problem is overpasses and rail subways are way more expensive than a standard at-grade crossing.  One for sure that I would love to see go away is at-grade crossing at Shaw Avenue and North Golden State Boulevard in Fresno.  Seemingly the HSR will eventually construct a modern overpass at some point.

Unfortunately, the UP grade crossing at Shaw will remain, with the HSR overcrossing adjacent to it.  Since that UP line hosts about a dozen freight trains in each direction per day (that RR's main SoCal-NorCal line), unless a grade separation is also built there, the delays along Shaw won't be ameliorated at all.

I'm hoping they hit the UP also because that would be one hell of a hellacious at grade crossing coming directly off of an overpass of the HSR.  Judging by where the new North Golden State Boulevard is going in relative to the HSR I don't think the planners have much choice other than cross the UP also.  Unfortunately I don't have any other analogs to go off of yet as it looks like the HSR will cross over Herndon Avenue. 

Edit:  Actually I do have a couple analogs south of Fresno.  The HSR/BNSF overpass was recently finished on Central Avenue.   There is another one at South Avenue which is nearing completion along with one at Adams Avenue which just started.  It seems that they kind of emulate what the Jensen Avenue did decades ago and just crossed everything in the rail reservation.  I guess that will be a pretty wild closure whenever the project at Shaw starts.  Ashlan Avenue was recently completed also and even overpasses North Golden State. 

[Rothman]

Hammond Ave in Superior, WI. This is the road 535 dumps into coming from Duluth and between the railroad and the intersection spacing around it it creates some major headaches.

Meh.  I used to commute up and down Hanmond.  It was never a problem during "rush hour" -- which was nonexistent in the area.

I know it caused backups at other times of the day, but those times were definitely not critical.

[webny99]

Is the correct answer "all of them"?

[SkyPesos]

Is the correct answer "all of them"?

If money grows on trees, yes

[1995hoo]

Is the correct answer "all of them"?

Depends on whether you want the answer to be accurate or whether a kernel of truth is enough.

[SkyPesos]

Found this interesting one, though not sure if it really needs to be grade separated: an LRT line through the middle of a DDI interchange

[webny99]

Is the correct answer "all of them"?

Depends on whether you want the answer to be accurate or whether a kernel of truth is enough.

Ha. Not bad!

[tolbs17]

Is the correct answer "all of them"?

Most, not all. Ping NCDOT into converting many at-grade rail crossings into grade separations.

It's listed in that screenshot.

[ibthebigd]

Muncie Indiana has several that need bridges.

SM-G950U

[Great Lakes Roads]

US 31 north of Argos and north of SR 28 in Tipton.

[sparker]

The single nastiest RR crossings in the South Bay area are those in Sunnyvale and Mountain View along the Caltrain service -- but most of the worst of them would be difficult to remedy, especially Castro Street in downtown Mountain View; the businesses south of the tracks (it's a rather upscale downtown with several locally well-known restaurants) line the street almost to the tracks themselves, and Central Expressway immediately parallels the tracks along their north (east by train direction) side; not nearly enough room to gain or lose elevation for an overpass or underpass.  The situation is understandable; these towns were built around the rail line, formerly the main SP route from Los Angeles to San Francisco.  Short of diverting traffic to locations where a grade separation can be built, the only "band-aid" is to control traffic movements around train movements -- which doesn't always work optimally during commute hours.  But over the 45 years since I first moved to the region, little has changed outside improvements at the margins -- and little probably will in the near future, which is certainly not for the best, as Caltrain is well on its way to shift its service to electric multiple-unit trainsets rather than the conventional commute locomotive/train arrangement; the catenary to allow that is being built right now.  But that will make train approaches considerably quieter; their presence at speed may not be ascertained by motorists or pedestrians/bicyclists -- and there certainly are many of the latter at the Sunnyvale and Mountain View rail stops (the station for the latter city is one block east of Castro, its "main drag").  It's bad enough now; but it could get worse without substantial mitigation. 

[DandyDan]

Here in Mason City, there are several that either should be grade separated or just eliminated entirely. However, several have housing or businesses that go right up to the railroad right-of-way that I doubt anything will ever get done with them, although they did close 2 crossings a couple years ago or so.

[deathtopumpkins]

Along the Eastern Route (MBTA Newburyport/Rockport Line), the cluster of grade crossing in Chelsea, MA really need grade separation. Neither the commuter trains or short local freight trains actually tie up the crossings for long, but there are far too many crashes there. The improvements associated with the Silver Line busway construction along the rail ROW will hopefully help with those crossings but Eastern Ave is the real thorny one.

Oak Island Rd in Revere could also probably use a grade separation - it's a tiny residential street, but the only connection across the tracks to an isolated neighborhood, and a few years ago a child riding a bike was struck by a train there. Would definitely require raising the railroad rather than the street though, so almost certainly cost-prohibitive.

Then there's Cabot St in Beverly, which is in the middle of a complex signalized intersection, and is one of two remaining grade crossings on the MBTA system that is still staffed full-time by a crossing tender - he hangs out in the little building you can see on the far side of the intersection, and comes out before each train to make sure the crossing is clear.

The other grade crossing with a tender is High St in Medford on the Lowell Line - this one ties up traffic pretty badly because trains block the crossing when stopped at the adjacent West Medford station. Hopefully the Green Line extension just to the south will relieve some of the pressure on West Medford, in turn reducing dwell times, because this is another one that would be very difficult to grade separate, and would likely require a viaduct à la Winchester.

Waltham center is an interesting one because trains block streets when stopped at the station here too, and it's on a short single-track bottleneck due to space, and inbound and outbound trains stop at separate platforms despite the single track (outbound trains stop at the platform west of Moody St, inbound trains at the platform between Moody and Elm).

Stoughton is another one where trains block the crossing, which has been a cause for some debate during South Coast Rail (SCR) planning. Stoughton is a terminal station on a minor branch line right now, but with the final phase of SCR will become a much busier through station, and the town wants a tunnel downtown, à la Hingham.

Outside of MBTA territory I'll also throw out there the remaining grade crossings on the Northeast Corridor, all in CT, as they limit operating speeds and have been the scene of fatal crashes. Miner Ln in Waterford is a notorious one.

[hbelkins]

US 15 between VA 55 and US 29 in Haymarket, Va.

[Rick Powell]

Is the correct answer "all of them"?

If you go on a Google Earth/Streetview tour of the world, there are many countries that have prioritized grade separating or closing dang near every former "level crossing". There's probably too many in the US to ever consider such a thing, but the UK is eliminating about 100 a year and have about 6,000 to go.

[I-55]

US 31 north of Argos and north of SR 28 in Tipton.

The crossing near Tipton is being replaced with an overpass