CITY OF RAINIER CITY OF RAINIER

RAILROAD CROSSINGSRAILROAD CROSSINGS

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Project # 2 Team Members Portland State University

City of Rainier• Lars Gare, City Administrator

ODOT Rail• David Lanning, Crossing Safety/Compliance

• Matthew DeGeorge

• Robert Acevedo

• Josh Crain

• Heather Wenstrand

• Jim Harvey

 

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Presentation Outline

• Introduction

• Existing Conditions

• Future Conditions

• Intersection Designs

• Cost Estimates

• Conclusion

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Scope

1. To design safe railroad crossings that maximizes the movement of people and goods.

2. Design safe pedestrian crossing across the railroad tracks.

3. To design effective intersection closures that minimizes the impact on traffic and the community.

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Background• The City of Rainier is on the south bank of the Columbia River across

from Longview, Washington.

• This project is part of the Rainier Waterfront Urban Renewal Plan.

• The closing of the Trojan nuclear power plant set off a decline in the number of businesses in the city.

• The current population is around 2,000 people.

• Freight trains with 110 railcars pass through downtown Rainier along A Street.

• On average there are 4 trains per week traveling in either direction

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Project Overview• Project consisted of:

– Design closing for 3 crossings– Redesign 4 crossings

• The City of Rainier has no dedicated engineering staff.– Lars Gare, City Administrator

• ODOT Rail has final design approval– Dave Lanning, Crossing Safety/Compliance

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Existing ConditionsRainier, Oregon

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“A” Street 2nd Street E

1st Street

6th Street E

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Traffic Conditions

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Peak Volume < 300 vph Operating well below capacity Does not require signals No additional studies needed

7 Crashes in past 11 years 0 Crashes involving rail Most crashes related to parking or backing All crashes during daylight hours

Crash History

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Time Intersection Collision Type Cause Severity Weather Conditions

11 AM 2nd St W Parking No Yield PDO Clear Dry

11 AM 1st St Backing Too Fast Injury "C" Cloudy Wet

9 AM 1st St Parking Other PDO Clear Dry

1 PM 2nd St E Parking Other PDO Clear Dry

12 PM 2nd St E Backing No Yield PDO Rain Wet

4 PM 3rd St E Turning Other PDO Clear Dry

2 PM 3rd St E Rear End Too Close PDO Clear Dry

• Increased frequency of trains moving through Rainier

• Increased train size and time to move the train through A Street

• Railroad being partitioned off by curbs and removal of the asphalt from the railroad tracks

Future Conditions

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ODOT’s One to One Offer to City

• City of Rainier Responsibilities– Select at-grade crossing to close, ODOT will pay for

the closure and upgrade one intersection– Must produce all design & engineering plans– City is financially responsible for 1 of the 4 upgrades

• ODOT Rail– Maintains final design approval– Will finance and construct 3 crossing closures and 3

crossing upgrades

• Future Closures– City decided due to usage and location that it would be beneficial to

close the following

• 2nd Street East

• 4th Street East

• 5th Street East

• Future Gated/Controlled– City decided that it would be necessary to allow the following

intersection to remain open however to provide control measures for safety purposes.

• 2nd Street West

• 1st Street

• 3rd Street East

• 6th Street East

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Design Summary

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We need to update this graphic. Robert?

Interconnect/Signal • something• We can put illumination conduit in the interconnect trenches

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Signing & Striping • Overview

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2nd Street West • Left Turn Pocket• Install two at-grade crossing gates at curb bulb outs

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1st Street • Install four at-grade crossing gates at curb bulb outs

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2nd Street East• “Right in, right out”• Access from cross streets maintained• Minimal signage

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3rd Street East• Install two at-grade crossing gates at curb bulb outs

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4nd Street East• “Right in, right out”• Access from cross streets maintained• Minimal signage

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5th Street East• “Right in, right out”• Access from cross streets maintained• Minimal signage

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6th Street East • Uncontrolled Crossing • Signing and Striping Only• 150-feet of Open Track

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Cost EstimatesCost by Type Cost by Intersection

Signing $36,488 2nd Street West $310,179

Striping $23,779 1st Street $612,823

Right of Way Acquisition $6,000 2nd Street East $14,481

Gates (Lump Sum Bid) $1,200,000 3rd Street East $309,874

Profit/Overhead $9,940 4th Street East $14,079

Mobilization & Temporary Traffic Control

$9,940 5th Street East $22,506

Contingency $6,627 6th Street East $8,832

Total $1,292,773 Total $1,292,773

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Net loss of 81 on-street spaces Parallel parking is safer Large off-street parking lots at:

W 2nd Street 1st Street E 3rd Street

Does not impact FOSS parking

Design Impacts: Parking

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"A" Street Parking Inventory

Block Existing Proposed

W 2nd - 1st 28 11

1st - E 2nd 28 19

E 2nd - 3rd 21 0

E 3rd - 4th 20 10

E 4th - 5th 15 11

E 5th - 6th 32 12

Total 144 63

Design Impacts: Anything else?

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Construction Recommendations

• Construct crossings in conjunction with railroad improvements

• Leave all crossings opened during construction

• Closure of the three intersections final phase of construction

• Identify delivery and train schedules to work construction around them

Design Considerations

• Space limitations, including all necessary safety measures while still leaving space for future improvements.

• Minimizing impact on traffic and businesses

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Some sort of project conclusion here…

“Lessons Learned” – what would we have done differently?

Prepare a schedule at the beginning of the project including all key dates

Better accountability of group members

Better communication between our group and our contact

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Questions?Questions?

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