Preliminary Design Meeting

Prior to plans and schematics being developed, the district project manager should contact the railroad company and local government (if applicable) to schedule a preliminary design meeting. At this meeting, the
following items should be discussed
:
  • Project timelines.
  • Design elements,
    including sidewalks, road closures, etc
    .
  • Preliminary schematic.
  • At-grade crossing protection devices.
  • Traffic signal preemption
    .
  • Planking (crossing surface).
  • Drainage, electrical and other utilities across railroad right of way.
  • Commercial signs or billboards.
  • Bridge horizontal and vertical clearances and crash walls.
  • Railroad company future
    track needs
    .
  • Railroad company cost participation.
  • Railroad company cost estimates.
  • Work to be performed by railroad company.
  • Any required shoofly tracks, railroad signal relocates or track work.
  • Adjacent at-grade crossings and wayside signals with existing circuitry that could impact railroad company cost estimate.
  • Potential project benefits for
     the railroad company TxDOT could use in negotiations.
  • Railroad right of way and construction access for
     the contractor.
  • Railroad right of way
    acquisition (if applicable)
    .
  • Need for absolute work windows during construction (when trains cannot be run).
  • Railroad coordination during project development.
The preliminary design meeting should also clarify how the various railroad agreements and coordination with the railroad company will be handled throughout project development prior to letting. Questions to be answered:
  • Who will submit and be a party to the Preliminary Engineering
    Letter of Authority (PELOA)
    ?
    • RRD
       policy is that all
      PELOA
       Agreements are two party agreements for simplification.
    • All project invoices from the railroad company should go to the same party that signs the agreement.
      • If TxDOT is letting the project, the agreement will include TxDOT and the railroad company. If the local government is letting the project, the agreement will include the local government and the railroad company. TxDOT will typically provide
        only
         design approval to the local government and is not a party to the C&M Agreement.
  • Who from TxDOT and the local government will review and approve project documents prior to submittal to the railroad company, including the Exhibit A plans and C&M Agreement?
  • Who will be the point of contact to submit all documents to the railroad company?
  • Who will be a party to and draft the C&M Agreement?
    RRD prefers two-party
     C&M Agreements between the party letting the project and the railroad company. The AFA is typically
    referenced in
     the C&M Agreement to clarify the third party’s responsibilities on the project.
The Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) may require
 that all traffic signal preemption agreements are three party agreements if local government traffic signal maintenance is involved.
At a minimum, the local government agency shall sign the preemption request form. See Chapter 7 for more information.
Meeting minutes from the preliminary design meeting should be sent by the district to the project team for comments and concurrence. In some cases, an informal approval from the railroad company may be required for the design features on the project prior to development of Exhibit A plans.