mid-states highway-rail crossing safety conference larry j. colclasure, p.e

Mid-States Highway-Rail Crossing Safety Conference

Larry J. Colclasure, P.E.Director of Transportation OperationsTexas Department of Transportation

Waco District

lcolclasure@dot.state.tx.us

WacoDistrict

Dallas Ft Worth

Austin

Waco

Temple Killeen

Fort Hood

Copperas Cove

Requires cooperation between agencies

Dependent on others Catastrophic results when things

don’t go according to plan

Key Concerns with Preemption:

Other Key Concerns with Preemption: Tools not available to assist. Static (factors do not change). Infrequent occurrences.

It equals a continual relearning process and a poor understanding by many technicians and engineers.

Waco

Temple Killeen

Fort Hood

Copperas Cove

Copperas Cove, Texas

Pedestrian Issues to Consider:

How to account for pedestrians. How to handle ped walk time? How to handle ped clearance time?

Vehicular Issues to Consider: How much time is needed to clear the queue? How much time is needed for track clearance

green? Is preemption affected by the signal being in

different phases? What is preemption delay time?

Railroad Issues to Consider:

How much preemption time do I need?

How much advance preemption time is needed?

How much total preemption time do I have available?

Recent TxDOT Research on Preemption

0-4265 Improved Traffic Signal Operation near Railroad Grade Crossings with Active Devices

0-4746 Non-Vital Advance Rail Preemption of Signalized Intersections near Highway –Rail Grade Crossings

0-5629 Best TxDOT Practices for Signal Timing & Detection Design at Intersection

Recent Tools Developed:

LADOT Preemption Form with Gate Interaction (Sean Skehan)

Texas Signal Coordination Optimization [Preemption page] (Michael Pratt & James Bonneson)