Salt Lake City has been hit hard by temporary road closures in the race to restore lost 'quiet zones'

SALT LAKE CITY – For Madeline West, her husband and others who live in her neighborhood, every day from 12:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. is quiet.

It is the only time to rest without the constant interruptions from nearby railroad crossings.

“That's a typical night. Some nights there are more train horns than others; some nights there are fewer,” she told members of the Salt Lake City Council Tuesday night, as she recounted her experience over the past two months.

It resides in federally recognized pockets where train operators are not required to sound their horns automatically as long as cities and counties maintain safe crossings known as “quiet zones.” However, all quiet zones from Ogden to Provo were abruptly suspended in late September.

“The noise level, the consistency and the frequency of the train horn makes it very difficult for us,” she said. “After six weeks, we're starting to feel the effects, as are many of our neighbors.”

That's why she asked the City Council for a temporary road closure that could speed up the process needed to restore the quiet zone from Salt Lake City to Ogden, but the plan hit a small snag Tuesday. The city is close to solving another problem that will reshape areas like Provo in the coming weeks.

Temporary solution

Salt Lake City is close to plans to close 1000 West between South Temple and 15 South, where there is a railroad crossing past Madsen Park. The city is working with Patriot Rail to help Rocky Mountain Power employees get to substations in the area, while drivers will be able to get around the closure using either South Temple or Folsom avenues.

The closures will only be implemented if the Federal Railroad Administration determines that the Woods Cross Quiet Zone is the right solution to restore the Woods Cross Quiet Zone — the stretch from Salt Lake City to Ogden — while it works on upgrading the crossing to return to federal code. According to federal law, each crossing must comply with the zone before the entire zone is reinstated.

Salt Lake City engineer Mark Stephens said it appeared to be the fastest way to handle the situation after the city was caught off guard by the Federal Railroad Administration's decision to suspend both quiet zones in late September, while the city was in the middle. Planning for necessary repairs.

Other Wasatch Front cities reported similar experiences when regional quiet zones were suspended.

“The ability to close the road if (the railroad administration) says it's OK helps us in advance,” Stephens explained at a meeting with city leaders last week.

The Salt Lake Trouble

Salt Lake City Council members were poised to adopt an emergency ordinance Tuesday night, but a “noticeable error” stopped it from happening. Nick Tarbett, deputy director of legislation and policy for the Salt Lake City Council, said the city did not properly alert the Utah Department of Transportation and therefore did not allow enough time to review the proposal.

Staff noticed the problem earlier Tuesday, so the city asked to continue the hearing until Dec. 3 to give the agency time to review the plan.

Tarbert doesn't believe the issue will delay the restoration of the Woods Cross quiet zone because train operators need to address issues in other cities in the zone before train operators can automatically sound their horns at each crossing.

Stephens said a similar problem was found in North Salt Lake, which is also being addressed. Both cities filed waivers with the federal government this month as they seek to restore the zones.

Comfort in sight?

Salt Lake City is the only city caught in two zones, as it serves as the northern end of the Lehi monitoring zone.

Lehi officials reported Wednesday that all but one crossing in its zone passed federal inspections. The only exception is a commercial driveway crossing at 1700 South in Salt Lake City, but it's close to solving the problem.

Leahy officials said property owners are expected to choose options to fix the problem “in the next week” and construction will begin soon after. The final inspection may take place shortly thereafter.

“Upon completion of final inspections, train horns will be silenced,” the city wrote in an update.

It is not clear when a similar decision will be made on the Woods Cross Zone. However, residents near the track are eagerly awaiting that moment.

“Anything we can do to restore quiet zones as quickly as possible will have a positive impact on the health, well-being and safety of our affected communities,” she said.