Section 5: Design Phase

Exhibit A Preparation

The district or RRD assigned consultant
 prepares the Exhibit A plan set following the diagnostic inspection to show all work to be done on the project by TxDOT, the local government and the railroad company.
Starting on September 1, 2022, a Scope of Work Sheet may be used on certain projects in lieu of an Exhibit A plan set. See the Scope of Work Sheet segment below for more information.
For
roadwork, sidewalk work or
 crossing closure projects, the local government may choose to prepare the Exhibit A plans showing details of the closure or may seek assistance from the district.
If the local government wants to be reimbursed with Section 130 funds for either preliminary engineering or construction activities, an executed advanced funding agreement shall be in place prior to obligation of the funds. No local government work is authorized for reimbursement prior to the written authorization for that phase of work.
All Exhibit A’s must be signed, sealed, and dated by the engineer designing the plans.
On local roadways, the following items of work are typically constructed by the local government:
  • Median installation.
  • Civil features such as curb and gutter, guardrail, retaining walls and culverts.
  • Traffic signal adjustments.
  • Utility adjustments.
  • Removing sight distance obstructions such as vegetation.
  • Signing and striping (may be performed by TxDOT).
  • Roadway alignment improvements.
  • Installing conduit for traffic signal preemption.
The proposed civil work may be funded by the affected road agency or Section 130.
 The railroad company may be willing to perform these duties as part of negotiating the final agreement.
The railroad company provides materials and labor for:
  • Active warning devices and railroad cabin.
  • Track circuitry.
  • Traffic control.
  • Providing a preemption connection between railroad cabin and traffic signal cabin
    (to determine limits during diagnostics)
    .
  • Replanking (crossing surface).
These items are reimbursed by TxDOT under
Section 130
 funding.
For details on how to develop an Exhibit A plan set, see Chapter 7 of this Manual.
RRD
 will review and approve Exhibit A’s, as well as any preemption forms, prior to preparing the individual project agreement.

Local Government Signature

If a local government manages the road at the at-grade crossing, the title sheet of the Exhibit A must be signed prior to submitting the Exhibit B to the railroad company. By signing the title sheet, the local government agrees to the work shown on the Exhibit A, responsibilities shown in the Master Agreement, and the cost participation shown in the estimate. The district railroad coordinator arranges to have the sheet signed.

Preemption Request Form

The railroad companies will review any preemption forms submitted for
a Section 130
 project. After approval, some railroad companies may request
a railroad specific
 Preemption Request Form be completed and signed. The form clarifies which preemption circuits are requested on the project
and the total amount and type of preemption time
.
RRD
 will arrange to have the form signed by the
government that maintains the traffic signal.
 Preemption forms, reports, and request forms are uploaded into the TRIMS Project Management Module by the
RRD project manager. A copy of the signed preemption request form will be included in the Exhibit A packet with the railroad signal sheet
.

Scope of Work Sheet

A Scope of Work sheet may be used in lieu of engineering plans and a formal Exhibit A if the project will only consist of work by the railroad including, but not limited to:
  • Installation of Crossbuck or Stop/Yield signs.
  • Passive to active signals.
  • LED or other light updates to existing flashing lights and gates.
  • Modification or replacement of the existing railroad signals and/or signal house (bungalow).
  • Modification or installation of new preemption when the traffic signals are maintained by TxDOT.
for traffic signals maintained by a local agency, a full plan set with a signed cover sheet including the local government signature shall be used for the Exhibit A.
The Scope of Work sheet shall not be used for any typical let work and/or civil work such as curb and gutter, sidewalk or road approach. For off state system crossings, a simple, no cost Advanced Funding Agreement shall be executed with the affected government and referenced on the Scope of Work sheet.

Cost Estimates

A cost
 estimate and
circuit
 diagram are provided from the railroad company for labor and materials provided by the railroad company.
Estimates will clarify any cost participation by the railroad company and will be reimbursed through a railroad agreement.
The local government will produce an estimate for any labor and materials provided by the local government. Estimates will clarify any cost participation by the local government.
Unless approved by
 TxDOT, materials and labor provided by the local government are usually not reimbursed via
Section 130 funding. Construction work funded by Section 130 will need to be covered under an Advanced Funding Agreement
.
For crossings on the state highway system, the district
may
 pay for any TxDOT labor or materials out of district funds. This work is typically similar to work provided by a local government on an off-system crossing. Work by a TxDOT contractor is also paid out of district funds.
If Section 130 funds are used for these types of projects, the district must proceed through the typical letting process.
The
RRD
 project manager will review and approve all estimates prior to development of the Exhibit B, Force Account Agreement or Crossing Closure Agreement.
For further information on reviewing railroad company cost estimates and
circuit
 diagrams, see Chapter 2 of this Manual.

Programming

RRD
 will request the district railroad coordinator
setup and obtain construction CSJs through the TxDOTCONNECT system
 for all
Section 130
 projects which will
use
 federal funding to reimburse the railroad companies, district work and/or local governments.
The district will update TRIMS with the CSJ and inform RRD.
For non-let railroad work, RRD will request Finance Division's Letting Management Section (FIN) to setup a project number and obligate funds once a draft agreement including signed Plansets/ SOW and railroad estimates are completed.
FIN
 will request each quarter that the Finance Division Letting Management Section provide construction CSJs for each of the planning CSJs. The Finance Division Letting Management Section will create a new FPAA to include the construction CSJs for an amount based on estimates to be paid out to railroad companies and local governments. FHWA will review and approve the FPAA.
FIN will then setup the CSJs in PeopleSoft and notify RRD of the Federal Project Number.
RRD will update TRIMS and the final plan sets with the proper numbers before sending the agreements to the railroad companies for final execution.
For let Section 130 funded projects, the district will notify RRD of the CSJ and let date (see Section 2 for further detail). The project will be coordinated as a typical maintenance and construction project (including obligation by FIN prior to letting).