§ 1-26-812 — Constructing, maintaining, abandoning or closing crossings

Wyoming § 1-26-812

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 01: Civil Procedure
• Ch. 26: EMINENT DOMAIN
• Art. 8: POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN GRANTED

Text

(a) When any person owns land on both sides of any
railroad, the company owning the railroad shall construct and
maintain reasonably adequate means of crossing the railroad.
(b) No railroad shall abandon, close or fail to maintain
any public highway crossing unless in accordance with the
provisions of W.S. 37-10-102.
(c) No railroad shall abandon, close or fail to maintain
any other existing crossing which has been maintained or
recognized by the railroad for more than five (5) years prior to
the effective date of this act without:
(i) Providing written notice of its intended action
to every person owning lands adjacent to the crossing;
(ii) Advertising its intended action in a newspaper
of general circulation in the county of the crossing; and
(iii) No sooner than three (3) weeks after providing
the notice required, holding a meeting open to all persons at
which it shall explain and at which persons shall be permitted
to express their views on the intended action.
(d) Any railroad violating subsection (c) of this section
shall not be entitled to assert any of the powers provided by
W.S. 1-26-810 over any lands which are part of or are adjacent
to the crossing, until the railroad has reconstructed the
crossing abandoned, closed or not maintained in violation of
subsection (c) of this section.
(e) In any action involving the abandonment, closing or
maintenance of a railroad crossing which has been maintained or
recognized by the railroad for more than five (5) years prior to
the effective date of this act, the railroad shall not be
entitled to assert any of the powers provided by W.S. 1-26-810
over any lands which are part of or are adjacent to the crossing
unless the railroad establishes by a preponderance of the
evidence:
(i) The closing or abandonment of the crossing is
justified by either financial or safety considerations;
(ii) There exists reasonable alternative means of
access to all property served by the crossing; and
(iii) That it has complied with the provisions of
this section and the Wyoming Eminent Domain Act.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting
or prohibiting any person from maintaining any other action at
law for a railroad's failure to maintain a crossing, or
abandonment or closing of a crossing.