You asked for a description of the process a municipality must follow if it intends to build a new town road that will cross an active rail line at grade. You also wanted to know how many at-grade crossings have been approved in recent years.

CGS § 13b-268 generally prohibits the creation of new at-grade crossings. When a new highway is constructed across a railroad, it normally must pass over or under the railroad as the transportation (DOT) commissioner directs. The company operating the railroad must construct the crossing to the commissioner's approval and may take land for this purpose. The commissioner determines whether the expense of the crossing construction will be borne by the municipality or shared between the municipality and the railroad company.

Since 1989, the law has required that any new public at-grade crossings be authorized by special act. The commissioner, upon the request of the Transportation Committee or on his own initiative, must investigate and make recommendations concerning the creation of the crossing. Such investigation must include a public hearing on the creation of the crossing. The commissioner must provide reasonable notice to the municipality where the crossing would be located, any railroad using the line, and the party requesting the crossing. The commissioner must also provide notice to the public through publication of notice in a newspaper circulating in the municipality where the crossing would be located. Any proposed legislation to create a crossing must be accompanied by a detailed report that at least contains the (1) the date of the hearing; (2) any requirements for the protection of persons using the crossing; including those authorized by law (sections 13b-342 to 13b-346); and (3) a recommendation as to who should pay for the crossing's construction, installation, and maintenance.

The legislature has required or authorized the construction of four at-grade crossings since 1989, two of which are not open to ordinary vehicular traffic. SA 90-13 allowed the Providence and Worcester Railroad to build an at-grade crossing near Route 131 in Thompson. The legislation specified that the state would bear no cost for the project, which would be subject to CGS §§ 13b-342 to 13b-347. SA 91-32 required DOT to build an at-grade crossing for pedestrians and emergency vehicles in Middletown in the vicinity of Portland and Bridge streets. PA 93-307 required DOT to replace a bridge carrying Route 1 over the Belle Dock rail spur line in New Haven with an at-grade crossing. PA 06-194 allows the city of Shelton to build a pedestrian at-grade crossing over the Housatonic Railroad's Maybrook line. The act required the city's board of alderman and the railroad to agree in order for the city to build the crossing.

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