A. Subject to the provisions of Subsection B hereof, every railroad company in this state shall construct and maintain in good condition, at its own expense, good and sufficient crossings at all places in this state where its railroad crosses public highways, city, town or village streets at grade, now or hereafter to be opened for public use. Such crossings shall be constructed of planks, macadam, concrete or other suitable material in such manner as to be level with the top of the rails for a reasonable distance on each side of each rail.

B. Any highway-railroad crossing at grade that may hereafter be constructed or reconstructed by the state highway department will be a full plank crossing of a material approved by the state highway department and railroad, to be installed by the railroad company at the state highway department's expense. If a joint investigation of railroad and highway engineers shows that a highway-railroad crossing at grade should be reconstructed, then the highway department shall pay the railroad for the initial full plank crossing. Said constructed or reconstructed crossing will be maintained in good condition at the railroad company's own expense.

History: Laws 1929, ch. 97, § 2; C.S. 1929, § 116-1202; 1941 Comp., § 74-337; 1953 Comp., § 69-3-39; Laws 1963, ch. 133, § 1.

Regulation of crossings by commission and highway department. — The state corporation commission (now public regulation commission) has the power to require a railway company to construct and maintain a crossing at grade whenever it finds that the company's tracts are intersected by any kind of way open to the public as a matter of right for vehicular travel. The commission's power includes the power to require the company to do anything which will make the crossing "good and sufficient," that is, safe and convenient for public use. The commission can order the railroad company to construct and maintain a crossing at grade at its own expense, except when the state highway department (now department of transportation) is involved in the construction or reconstruction of the crossing. When the state highway department is involved, it will pay the costs of making the crossing's surface level with the rails. The railroad must bear the remaining construction costs as well as all maintenance costs. 1974 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 74-07.

Scope of obligation to provide and maintain crossings. — It is obligation of the railroads to provide and maintain highway crossings wherever to do so is in the public interest, reasonable and just. 1949 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 49-5248.

Effect of changing circumstances. — The duty of maintaining and keeping in repair highway crossings is a continuing duty, requiring the railroad companies to put such highway crossings in such condition as changes in circumstances require, therefore, where a highway is improved by widening same to accommodate increasing traffic, it is the duty of the railroad company to improve its crossing so that it will be reasonably comparable to the roadway approaching the crossing. 1937 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 37-1758.

Common-law duty of railroad companies is to keep and maintain crossings for roads already established at the time of the building of the railroad line in a safe and suitable state of repair, including not only the crossing of the tracks but also the approaches thereto. 1937 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 37-1758.

Railroad's only duty is to make crossing safe and convenient to the public with proper regard for the class of traffic at such crossing. If the highway commission (now state transportation commission) desires further improvement beyond that, it may expend state funds for improvement thereof but cannot hold railroad liable for same. 1937 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 37-1758.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 65 Am. Jur. 2d Railroads, §§ 265 to 275.

Constitutional power to compel railroad to relocate its tracks and abolish grade crossings, 35 A.L.R. 1322, 36 A.L.R. 1122, 55 A.L.R. 660, 109 A.L.R. 768.

Covenant to establish and maintain crossing as running with the land, 41 A.L.R. 1369, 102 A.L.R. 781, 118 A.L.R. 982.

Railroad's right to construct and maintain piers, pillars or abutments at crossing on highway, 62 A.L.R. 1519.

Liability of railroad for damages other than those incident to bodily injury for blocking street or highway crossing, 71 A.L.R. 917.

Prohibition to control action of administrative officers as to construction of crossing or viaduct, 115 A.L.R. 23, 159 A.L.R. 627.

Duty of railroad to person using private crossing or footpath over or along railroad tracks, 167 A.L.R. 1253.

Customary or statutory signals from train as measure of railroad's duty as to warning at highway crossing, 5 A.L.R.2d 112.

Failure of occupants of motor vehicle stalled on railroad crossing to get out and move to place of safety as contributory negligence, 21 A.L.R.2d 742.

Duty of railroad company to maintain flagmen at crossing, 24 A.L.R.2d 1161.

Liability of railroad to adult pedestrian attempting to pass over, under or between cars obstructing crossing, 27 A.L.R.2d 369.

Rights of injured guest in vehicle involved in railroad crossing accident as affected by obscured vision from vehicle, 42 A.L.R.2d 350.

Contributory negligence of one jumping from moving motor vehicle, 52 A.L.R.2d 1433.

Liability for injury or death of pedestrian due to condition of surface of crossing, 64 A.L.R.2d 1199.

Duty of person with physical handicap, such as impaired vision or hearing, to stop and look upon reaching a railroad crossing to avoid charge of contributory negligence, 65 A.L.R.2d 703.

Liability to owner or occupant of motor vehicle for accident allegedly resulting from defective condition of road surface at crossing, 91 A.L.R.2d 10.

Liability of railroad or other private landowner for vegetation obscuring view at railroad crossing, 66 A.L.R.4th 885.

74 C.J.S. Railroads §§ 141 to 145, 156.