The Tennessee Department of Transportation’s Office of Rail Engineering administers the Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing Program, commonly known as the Section 130 Program. This initiative is federally funded under United States Code Title 23, Section 130, and managed at the state level in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The program is designed to improve safety at public highway-railroad grade crossings throughout Tennessee by funding safety enhancements and supporting the closure of redundant crossings.
The main objective of the Section 130 Program is to reduce the likelihood of collisions between vehicles and trains at grade crossings—intersections where a highway and a railway are at the same level. Projects under this program often involve the installation of safety warning devices such as flashing lights, automatic gates, and bells that are activated by approaching trains. Additional safety improvements or crossing closures can also be funded based on specific needs and risk assessments.
Each year, Tennessee receives approximately $5,000,000 in Section 130 funding. These funds come with a 90% federal cost share requirement, meaning that eligible projects need a 10% matching contribution from other sources. A typical project—such as installing lights and gates on a two-lane road—costs about $300,000, although some projects may require higher investments depending on complexity and site-specific needs.
The program prioritizes funding based on a crash prediction model developed by the FHWA. This model evaluates factors such as average daily traffic, number of daily train movements, maximum train speeds, and historical crash data to identify crossings with the highest risk. The Office of Rail Engineering also manages a crossing inventory database, which tracks safety features at public crossings and feeds into the national crossing inventory maintained by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
Entities interested in constructing new crossings or converting private crossings to public ones must follow specific procedures outlined in TDOT Rule 1680-09-01. Questions and applications related to the program should be directed to the Office of Rail Engineering via TDOT.RailAdmin@tn.gov. Additional information about federal safety guidelines and analysis tools can be found through linked resources such as the FHWA Section 130 Program and the FRA Office of Safety Analysis.
