R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-8-1.1: Commission control of grade crossings.

In the exercise of the police power of the state for the safety of its inhabitants, the general assembly vests in the commission the authority and power to determine the point at which and the manner in which any grade crossing of a railroad and a street shall be constructed and the jurisdiction to determine whether any crossing should be altered, relocated, abolished, or eliminated, and the manner and conditions under which the crossings shall be maintained, even if the order of the commission has the effect of depriving a municipality of control of its streets.