City moving forward with quiet zones'

Funding available to silence train horns at State Park, 2nd St. railroad crossings

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

Whitefish is moving closer to quieting train horns at two of its three at-grade railway crossings. Dealing with the third one is not in the cards, at least for now.

Currently, BNSF Railway trains blow their horns at each crossing. According to Whitefish public works director John Wilson, 43 trains passed through the city every day in 2006. For some residents, that's too much noise.

In January 2000, the federal government issued a ruling clarifying the need for locomotive horns to be sounded while approaching railway crossings. It also specified sound levels and duration, but it provided for the creation of "quiet zones" where locomotive engineers would only be required to sound their horns in emergencies.

Learning of this, the city contacted Railroad Controls Ltd. to prepare a report on how to establish quiet zones. Six alternatives exist, RCL reported:

? Using four gates to block vehicle traffic on two lanes in both directions.

? Using two gates with a median or channelization devices in the roadway to prevent vehicles from going around a gate.

? Using two longer gates for one-way streets.

? Sounding a much quieter wayside horn installed at the crossing rather than a locomotive horn.

? Temporarily closing roads during designated quiet periods.

? Permanently closing a crossing.

The State Park Road and Second Street crossings already have gates in place, and installing channelization devices would cost about $15,000 at each site. The break-away devices must be installed for 100 feet along the middle of the roadway.

BNSF Railway is not obligated to pay for creating a quiet zone, Wilson said, and the city was unable to locate grants that would cover such projects. The city council approved $30,000 in this year's budget for the quiet zones, which is enough to do State Park Road and Second Street.

Finding money for the Birch Drive crossing is another matter. The crossing currently lacks both gates and "constant warning time circuitry," which could cost $150,000 to install.

On top of that, the Birch Drive roadway is too narrow for channelization. Widening the road could cost about $85,000. Using wayside horns instead would cost about $75,000, but in either case, the gates and constant warning time circuitry would need to be installed.

Residents on Birch Drive have approached the city in the past about building a viaduct because of the number of times trains have blocked the crossing. The viaduct proposal was extremely expensive, but finding $225,000 or more for a quiet zone there may also be problematic.

"The street fund is a little tight right now," Wilson said. "The overall need for preventative maintenance, such as chip-sealing, is increasing because of all the new subdivisions and recently reconstructed streets."

Resort tax money can be spent on reconstructing roads, he said, but not for routine maintenance like chip-sealing.

With the preliminary budget allocating $1.6 million for streets, up from $1.3 million last fiscal year, Wilson said the Public Works Department is proposing that the city council increase the street maintenance assessment on property owners by about 18 percent, or roughly $24 per year for a typical residential propoerty.

The approval process for quiet zones at State Park Road and Second Street is now underway between the city, the Federal Railway Administration, Montana Department of Transportation and BNSF Railway, Wilson said. The city should expect technical comments from them soon.

A project manager from BNSF Railway was here two weeks ago to see the sites and mentioned some items that need work.

The city is also in talks with the county because both State Park Road and Second Street north of the tracks are outside the city. Wilson said the city would need to assume ownership for a couple sections of roadway to install the channelization devices.