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January 22, 1998

Memorandum To: James A. Smailes, P.E., Federal Railroad Administration

From: Mitch Eaton, Highway/Railroad Traffic Separation Engineer

Subject:Quarterly Report # 6, North Carolina Sealed CorridorProject: TIP Project No. P-3419; Next Generation High Speed Rail Grant

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has completed the following tasks as part of the Sealed Corridor project since our last report to you in July, 1997:

  • Testing of the articulated gate arm at the Orr Road crossing in Charlotte is finished. The data collected shows a 78% reduction in traffic violations using the articulated gate arm, as opposed to the 67% percent reduction using the long gate arm. The articulated gate does require a moderate amount of maintenance, and placement of the gates will be limited to specific locations with low truck traffic and low traffic volumes.
  • Base-line data for the CLEAR Video Ticketing System on the Henderson Street crossing in Salisbury, Rowan Co., will begin being collected on January 26, 1997 The duration of the data collection process will run for 20 weeks, after which the ticketing phase of the project will commence for a second 20 weeks.
  • The Traffic Engineering & Safety Systems Branch’s Traffic Safety Systems Management Unit is working with Norfolk Southern in designing an effective preemption phasing plan for use at four-quadrant gate locations. The installation of these gates should begin by early this year.
  • The four-quadrant gate installation at Hilltop Road in Greensboro has been completed.
    The engineering firm of Gannett-Fleming is negotiating with the participating municipalities on the recommendations from the Traffic Separation Study to consolidate crossings between 36th Street in Charlotte and Liberty Street in China Grove.
  • The engineering firm of Carter-Burgess has completed the design of a proposed connector road and grade separation that will enable the elimination of three redundant at-grade crossings in Greensboro. The feasibility of the design is being reviewed by the NCDOT Traffic Engineering Branch.
  • The Rail Division has received proposals from contractors for bids on the installation of median barriers at the 18 locations selected for treatment. The contract will be awarded upon execution of the Master Agreement between NCDOT and Norfolk Southern.
  • The NCDOT Traffic Congestion and Engineering Operations Unit has designed the "Stop Here When Flashing" signs proposed for all crossings on the corridor receiving treatment. The design has been approved, and authorization for the production of the signs has been given.
  • The SR-1550 (Stanford Road) crossing in Guilford County will receive Buckeye signs for the crossbuck posts. This crossing has an extremely low traffic volume and is scheduled for closure with the completion of a grade separation. For the interim, we have decided to treat the crossing with the low cost Buckeye signals.

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