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§ 8-639. Construction or modification of railroad grade crossing or change of crossing protecti...

West's Annotated Code of MarylandTransportation

West's Annotated Code of Maryland
Transportation
Title 8. Highways (Refs & Annos)
Subtitle 6. Construction and Maintenance (Refs & Annos)
Part VIII. Railroad Crossings
MD Code, Transportation, § 8-639
§ 8-639. Construction or modification of railroad grade crossing or change of crossing protection equipment
Currentness
Approval required for railroad to change railroad grade crossings or crossing protection equipment
(a) Unless approved by the Secretary on application to him, and notwithstanding any other statute to the contrary:
(1) Except for an industrial track spur or siding, a railroad may not:
(i) Construct, reconstruct, improve, widen, relocate, or otherwise alter a railroad grade crossing over a State, county, or municipal highway, except in Baltimore City, or over a private road; or
(ii) Change the crossing protection equipment at such a crossing; and
(2) A person may not:
(i) Construct, reconstruct, improve, widen, relocate, or otherwise alter either a railroad grade crossing over a public highway or a private road over a railroad; or
(ii) Change the crossing protection equipment at such a crossing.
Authority of Secretary to approve and impose conditions to construction or modification
(b)(1) The Secretary has authority, subject to the provisions of Division II of the State Finance and Procurement Article, to approve the construction or modification of a railroad grade crossing or a change of crossing protection equipment and to impose conditions necessary to insure public safety at the crossing.
(2) No other approval, safety condition, or protective measure may be required by any public authority.
Notice and hearing
(c) When an application is made to the Secretary for approval of the construction or modification of a railroad grade crossing or a change of crossing protection equipment, the Secretary, after notice to all parties in interest, including adjacent property owners, shall hold a hearing on the matter if:
(1) The Secretary considers a hearing to be necessary;
(2) A hearing is requested by any party in interest; or
(3) The proposed change would diminish or discontinue any crossing protection.
Approval or disapproval of applications
(d) With any technical advice from the Administration that the Secretary considers necessary, the Secretary may:
(1) Approve or disapprove the application; and
(2) Impose on the person initiating the crossing project, under uniform standards and regulations, any condition necessary to insure public safety at the crossing, including a requirement for the installation of, payment for, and maintenance of crossing protection equipment.
Conversion a projection of public highway over the railroad
(e) For purposes of this section, the conversion of a private road grade crossing into a public highway grade crossing is a projection of a public highway over the railroad by the public authority taking jurisdiction of the private road.

Credits

Added by Acts 1977, c. 13, § 2, eff. July 1, 1977. Amended by Acts 1980, c. 775, § 21; Acts 1986, c. 396, § 1.
Formerly Art. 41, § 208E.
MD Code, Transportation, § 8-639, MD TRANS § 8-639
Current through legislation effective through April 25, 2024, from the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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