(a) A railroad shall maintain railroad crossing (crossbuck) signs conforming to the Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, as amended from time to time, at every public highway where the same is crossed by its railroad at grade.

(b) The Transportation Board, upon recommendation of the Agency of Transportation and after notice to the railroad and the person having control of the highway and an opportunity to be heard, may designate certain crossings as "exempt" and may impose such conditions as the interests of safety and the public good dictate. However, a flagperson shall be stationed at every crossing whenever a train is crossing a highway where an exempt sign is displayed. Within 90 days of such an order, the railroad in the case of warning devices, and the person having control of the highway in the case of advance warning signs, shall affix "exempt" signs in accordance with 23 V.S.A. § 1025. The petitioner shall bear the expense of the exempt sign.

(c) At the request of the Agency of Transportation, the railroad, or the person having control of the highway, and after notice and an opportunity to be heard, the Transportation Board may rescind an "exempt" crossing designation. The railroad and the person having control of the highway shall remove the "exempt" signs as directed by the Transportation Board. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 1967, No. 153, § 1; 1971, No. 258 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. March 1, 1973; 1985, No. 268 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1991, No. 49, § 1, eff. June 4, 1991; 1993, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 53a.)