Procedures

Procedures and Stipulations for the Installation of New Road Crossings

To enhance highway-rail grade crossing safety, Union Pacific endorses the concept of reducing the number of at-grade crossings, both public and private, through consolidation, elimination, grade separation and restriction of the number of new crossings installed. Because of safety concerns, every effort must be made to obtain alternative access to property adjacent to the railroad. Parallel or other roads leading to existing crossings and access from other directions must first be considered. In making an application, the applicant understands and agrees that if permission for the crossing is granted:

  1. All construction work for new crossings from end of tie to end of tie within the track area must be performed by Union Pacific forces at applicant's sole expense.
  2. All grading and drainage work on roadway approaches, including maintenance, will be the responsibility of applicant at applicant's sole expense.
  3. All relocation of utilities due to construction of a new crossing (if any) is at applicant's sole expense.
  4. Any maintenance work performed by Union Pacific forces will be at applicant's sole expense.
  5. Any current or future warning devices required for the crossing (passive or active) will be installed and maintained by Union Pacific forces at applicant's sole expense.
  6. All liability for accidents or injuries which arise as a result of the construction, maintenance and use of the crossing is assumed by applicant.
  7. A current certificate evidencing insurance coverage in the following amounts is required:
    1. New individual and residential private crossings and encroachments: General Public Liability providing $1,000,000 for each occurrence and general aggregate limit of $1,000,000; Automobile Public Liability providing $500,000 for each occurrence.
    2. Commercial and industrial crossings and encroachments and contractors’ private crossings and encroachments: General Public Liability providing $5 million for each occurrence and general aggregate limit of $10 million; Automobile Public Liability providing $2 million for each occurrence; Worker's Compensation covering the statutory liability determined by state law. Railroad Protective Liability providing $2 million for each occurrence and aggregate limit of $6 million.
  8. Before any construction begins on a new crossing, applicant must enter into written agreement with Union Pacific and make payment to Union Pacific for the estimated cost of construction work.
  9. Applicant will pay Union Pacific all required engineering review fees and license fees.
  10. Before performing any work on Union Pacific property, applicant will telephone Union Pacific at 1-800-336-9193 (a 24-hour number) for fiber optic cable information, and will notify Union Pacific's manager of track maintenance ten (10) working days prior to start of construction.
  11. The Application (PDF File) [39K PDF] must be printed and completed in its entirety. (The Application document in this section is a PDF [Portable Document Format] file, which requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing. See the instructions on Viewing/Printing PDF Files (PDF File) on the Road Crossing Installation index page.) Completed applications and a nonrefundable payment of $500.00 (made payable to Union Pacific Railroad Company, Federal Taxpayer Identification No. 94-6001323) for preliminary engineering review of new crossings are to be forwarded to the appropriate manager for the area in which your crossing will be located, as identified on the map titled Managers of Industry and Public Projects.

    Failure to complete the application in full may delay processing. Please allow a minimum of 30 days for processing existing crossing requests and a minimum of 180 days for new crossing requests.

  12. Depending on the scope of the work and proximity to our tracks we may require that Railroad Protective Liability Insurance be obtained, in addition to general liability insurance. We have acquired a blanket Railroad Protective Liability Insurance policy which may allow inclusion of your project under our coverage for an additional charge. We've found that in many instances it may be cheaper for the contractor do this than to obtain their own coverage. However, we do encourage you to shop around, as you may find a more favorable rate. An application form and additional information on Railroad Protective Liability Insurance through UPRR can be found in this section.
  13. In the event there is a need to revise an established Private Road Crossing Agreement, any changes will need to be reviewed and approved by the Manager of Industry & Public Projects (MIPP). This would include any changes to the socpe or location of the project as defined in the Basic Agreement and must be specific to that project. If the local MIPP approves of the revisions, he will forward to the Real Estate Department and the Contract Manager will draft and send a Supplemental Agreement or appropriate document for execution. There would be an administrative fee of $500.00 assessed for this process. This will eliminate the need for a completely new application and agreement which will result in time and costs savings for all involved. It is Railroad policy that we do not assign road crossing Agreements and any new user(s) should make application for a new license agreement.

Who Do I Contact?

Questions? Need Assistance? Use the Managers of Industry and Public Projects map to select the appropriate contact person for the area in which your crossing will be located.