The selectmen of any town, the mayor and common council of any city or the warden and burgesses of any borough, within which a highway crosses or is crossed by a railroad, or the directors of any railroad company whose road crosses or is crossed by a highway, may bring their petition in writing to the Commissioner of Transportation, alleging that public safety requires an alteration in such crossing, its approaches, the method of crossing, the location of the highway or crossing, the closing of a highway crossing and the substitution of another therefor, not at grade, or the removal of obstructions to the sight at such crossing, and praying that the same may be ordered. Thereupon said commissioner shall appoint a time and place for hearing the petition, and shall give such notice thereof to such petitioners, the company, the municipality or municipalities in which such crossing is situated and the owners of the land adjoining such crossing and adjoining that part of the highway to be changed in grade, as said commissioner judges reasonable; and, after such notice and hearing, said commissioner shall determine what alterations or removals, if any, shall be made and by whom made. If such petition is brought by the directors of a railroad company or on behalf of any such company, said commissioner shall order the expense of such alterations or removals, including the damages to any person whose land is taken and the special damages which the owner of any land adjoining the public highway sustains by reason of any such change in the grade of such highway, to be paid by the company owning or operating the railroad in whose behalf the petition is brought; and, if such petition is brought by the selectmen of any town, the mayor and common council of any city or the warden and burgesses of any borough, said commissioner may, if the highway affected by such determination was in existence when the railroad was constructed over it at grade or if the layout of the highway was changed for the benefit of the railroad after the layout of the railroad, order an amount not exceeding one-quarter of the whole expense of such alteration or removal, including the damages, to be paid by the town, city or borough in whose behalf the petition is brought, and the remainder of the expense shall be paid by the company owning or operating the road which crosses such public highway. If the highway affected by such last-mentioned order has been constructed since the railroad which it crosses at grade, said commissioner may order an amount not exceeding one-half of the whole expense of such alteration or removal, including the damages, to be paid by the town, city or borough in whose behalf the application is brought, and the remainder of the expense shall be paid by the company owning or operating the road which crosses such public highway. Railroad companies may take land for the purpose of this section.