The railroads, FRA, NHTSA, and others need to look hard in the mirror and ask what can be done to make grade separations cheaper and faster to build. None of these parties are interested in reducing cost and time because the work is being funded by taxpayers at the state and local levels. Put simply it's not their problem.

There's just no reason why ONE grade separation typically takes 3 years to complete... much longer when you include design and environmental studies.

What ends up happening is that each project becomes a "one off" production with tons of administrative and construction costs (millions) allocated exclusively to a single job.