56-405 - Railroad companies to maintain grade crossings of public highways and approaches; repair by Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner or public road authority; recovery of cost from railroad c
§ 56-405. Railroad companies to maintain grade crossings of public highwaysand approaches; repair by Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner or publicroad authority; recovery of cost from railroad company.
At every crossing, now existing or hereafter established, of a public road bya railroad or of a railroad by a public highway at grade, it shall be theduty of the railroad company to keep such crossing in good repair to the fullwidth of the public highway, and to maintain such crossing in a smoothcondition so as to admit of reasonable and safe travel over the same, and itshall also be the duty of the railroad company to maintain and keep in goodrepair that portion of the highway located between points two feet on eitherside of the extreme rails. A railroad may request that a public highway beclosed for grade crossing maintenance activities, and the representative ofthe Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner or the representative of theappropriate public road authority may approve such closing where a reasonabledetour is available. Any railroad company violating the provisions of thissection shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shallbe fined not less than $10 nor more than $500.
The Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner or the representative of thepublic road authority, whenever he or it shall ascertain that any suchcrossing is not being properly maintained, shall notify the railroad companyinvolved in writing to repair the crossing forthwith; the railroad companyupon receipt of notice may request a conference on the condition of thecrossing and the need, if any, for the repair of such crossing and suchconference shall be held within thirty days after receipt of theCommissioner's or the public road authority's notice. After the conference ifthe Commissioner or the public road authority is of the opinion that suchrepairs are required and the railroad is not willing to proceed promptly withsuch repairs, he or the public road authority may repair the same or cause itto be repaired and recover from the railroad company the actual cost of suchwork including any administration and engineering cost.
If no conference is requested by the railroad company within the thirty-dayperiod, the Commissioner or the public road authority with advance notice mayrepair the crossing or cause it to be repaired and recover from the railroadcompany the actual cost of such work including any administration andengineering cost.
In any action under this section to recover the cost of the repair of anysuch crossing, the need for, and reasonableness of, the repairs may be put inissue.
Nothing herein shall be construed as placing a duty on the railroad companyto construct or reconstruct any such crossing in the event any such crossingis relocated or the highway approaches thereto are widened or reconstructed.
(Code 1919, § 3973; 1952, c. 99; 1960, c. 544; 1968, c. 226; 1978, c. 214;1996, cc. 114, 157.)