A holistic optimization-based approach for sustainable selection of level crossings for closure with safety, economic, and environmental considerations

An intersection of railway and highway segments at the same elevation, known as a highway-rail grade crossing or level crossing, presents significant safety concerns and operational challenges. To mitigate these issues, different methods can be adopted, such as implementation of countermeasures (e.g., installation of flashing lights, gates, and median barriers), grade separations, and level crossing closures. The closure of selected level crossings, when done thoughtfully in consultation with relevant stakeholders and affected communities, can be a highly effective alternative. However, the majority of studies in this field primarily focuses on the implementation of countermeasures and mainly concentrates on safety-related aspects. Considering the drawbacks in the current research, a novel optimization model to identify level crossings for closure is presented in this study, which evaluates various benefits from closing specifically selected level crossings, including safety, economic, and environmental benefits, as well as reduction in traffic delays and maintenance and operational costs. A specialized heuristic algorithm inspired by sorting principles is developed to solve the decision problem addressed in this study. A set of comprehensive computational experiments are performed focusing on level crossings situated in the State of Florida (United States). The findings show clear superiority of the developed heuristic algorithm against the exact method, as it was able to solve the generated problem instances ≈20 times faster with the average optimality gap of only 0.14 %. Additionally, various sensitivity analyses are performed to illustrate managerial implications from the implementation of the proposed optimization approach to administer closures of level crossings.