Chap. 497.—An ACT to amend and reenact Section 2 of Chapter 178 of the
Acts of Assembly of 1934, approved March 27, 1934, to provide for the public
safety and welfare at crossings of roads in the State highway system
railroads; for the separation of grades of such roads and railroads; the
elimination of crossings at grade; the construction and improvement of
overhead and underpass crossings of roads in the State highway system and
railroads; and for the apportionment of costs thereof. [S 195]

Approved April 5, 1948

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That section two of chapter one hundred seventy-eight of the
Acts of Assembly of nineteen hundred thirty-four, approved March
twenty-seven, nineteen hundred thirty-four, be amended and reenacted as
ollows:

Section 2. Whenever a road in the State highway system is pro-
jected across a railroad, or a road in the State highway system is to be
so changed as to cross a railroad, and funds are allocated by the State
Highway Commission for the payment of the State’s portion of the
costs of constructing over or under the tracks of the railroad, as the case
may be, or whenever funds are so allocated for the payment of the State’s
portion of the costs of elimination of a crossing at grade of a road in
the State highway system and a railroad and the substitution therefor
of an overhead or an underpass crossing, or whenever, in case of an
overhead or an underpass crossing of a railroad and a road in the State
highway system dangerous to or insufficient to take care of traffic on the
highway, funds are so allocated for the payment of the State’s portion of
the costs of widening, strengthening, remodeling, redesigning, relocat-
ing, or replacing such overhead or underpass crossing or providing a new
or improved structure in lieu thereof, the State Highway Commissioner
shall notify in writing the railroad company whose track is to be crossed,
or upon which the existing crossing at grade, or the overhead or under-
pass crossing, as the case may be, is, that funds have been allocated for
the payment of the State’s portion of the costs of the proposed work, and
shall submit to said railroad company plans and specifications of the
proposed work, the said crossing to be deemed to start at the points on
each side of the tracks of the railroad where the grade under the plans
and specifications herein provided for leaves the ground line of the
State road to go over or under, as the case may be, the tracks of the
railroad, and to include all work and structures between said points. It
shall thereupon be the duty of the railroad company to provide all
equipment and materials and construct the overhead or underpass
crossing, or widen, strengthen, remodel, redesign, relocate or replace the
overhead or underpass crossing, or provide a new or improved structure
in lieu thereof, as the case may be, in accordance with the plans and
specifications submitted by the State Highway Commissioner, within
its right of way limits and the State Highway Commissioner such por-
tion outside of said railroad right of way limits or such other division
of the work as may be mutually agreed on between the State Highway
Commissioner and the railroad company, provided, however, that
within twenty days after the receipt from the State Highway Commis-
sioner of notice of the allocation of funds for the payment of the State’s
portion of the costs of widening, strengthening, remodeling, redesigning,
relocating, or replacing an overhead or underpass crossing, or providing
a new or improved structure in lieu thereof, and the plans and specifica-
tions therefor, but not thereafter, the railroad company may file a peti-
tion with the State Corporation Commission setting out its objections
to the proposed work, and the Commission shall hear and determine the
complaint as other complaints are heard and determined by that body, and
shall ascertain and by its order determine whether or not the existing
structure is dangerous to or insufficient to take care of traffic on the
highway and provided further, that if the railroad company be not
satisfied with the plans and specifications submitted by the State High-
way Commissioner, such company may within sixty days after the
receipt of said plans and specifications, if the railroad company and the
State Highway Commissioner be unable in the meantime to agree on
plans and specifications, including the grade of the approaches and the
point to which the liability of the railroad shall extend, or in event
of a hearing, as hereinbefore provided, before the State Corporation
Commission, as to the danger or insufficiency of an existing structure,
within thirty days after the entry of the order of the State Corporation
Commission thereon, file a petition with the State Corporation Commis-
sion setting out its objections to the plans and specifications and its
recommendations of plans and specifications in lieu thereof, and the
Commission shall hear the complaint as other complaints are heard
and determined by that body, and shall approve the plans submitted by
the State Highway Commissioner, or other plans in lieu thereof; and it
shall thereupon be the duty of the railroad company to provide all
equipment and materials and construct, widen, strengthen, remodel,
redesign, relocate or replace, as the case may be, the overhead or under-
pass crossing, or provide a new or improved structure in lieu thereof,
within its right of way limits, and the State Highway Commissioner
the portion outside of the railroad right of way, unless otherwise
mutually agreed upon, in accordance with the plans and specifications
approved by the State Corporation Commission.

Upon completion of the work, including roadway, approaches, drains
and ditches and structures, in accordance with the plans and specifica-
tions, the railroad company shall file with the State Highway Commis-
sioner an itemized statement of the cost of the work done by such
company, certified by an executive officer of such company, and the State
Highway Commissioner shall file with the railroad company an itemized
statement of the cost of the work done by him, if any, exclusive in each
instance of the cost of right of way, and if the cost of the work done by
the railroad company exceeds one-half of the total cost of the work
done by the railroad company and the State Highway Commissioner,
and provided the estimated cost of the entire work shall have first been
approved by the State Highway Commissioner, the Commonwealth shall
be obliged to pay the railroad company, within thirty days, the amount of
such excess paid by the railroad company. If the cost of the work done
by the State Highway Commissioner exceeds one-half of such total cost,
then the railroad company shall, within thirty days, pay to the Common-
wealth the amount of such excess, such amount to be paid in to the
State treasury to the credit of the State highway system construction
fund. All costs for which the State is responsible under this act shall be

id out of funds available for the construction of roads in the State
ighway system.

After such work has been done, the maintenance, including drainage,
of any underpass hereafter so constructed, except the pavement thereof,
shall be the sole responsibility of the railroad company and the main-
tenance of any overhead structure hereafter so constructed shall be the
sole responsibility of the highway department ; and further provided, that
the railroad company shall not be responsible for any damage to an
underpass caused by operations on the highway, and the highway depart-
ment shall not be responsible for any damage to an overpass caused by
the operations of the railroad company; and further provided, that the
provisions herein as to maintenance of overhead and underpasses shall
also be construed as applicable in the case of those structures previously
built on the primary system under agreement between the railroad com-
pany and the highway department.