SALT LAKE CITY — Those loud train horns that you keep hearing aren’t going to stop just yet. There are two crossings left that still need fixing.
On Sept. 30, the Federal Railroad Administration suspended the entire Woods Cross Quiet Zone after finding four non-compliant train crossings within the zone. Since then, routine train horns have blared from Ogden to Salt Lake City.
The first of two crossings, at 1700 South in Salt Lake City, is where a commercial driveway exists and still needs to be fixed.
Mark Stephens, a city engineer, said the driveway was installed too close to the adjacent rail back around 2019 to 2020.
“We’re in discussions with the property owners and the city’s legal team and waiting for them to come to an agreement so we can close the driveway access to the property and can start constructing,” Stephens said. “The closure of the driveway and the reinstatement of the quiet zone we’re hoping to have within the next couple of weeks.”
Once the FRA approves the closure components on site that will be installed, then those train horns will finally go silent, according to Stephens.
After that, the quiet zone could go into effect immediately or take up to seven days.
For the second train crossing, the city council is proposing to close a portion of 1000 West between South Temple and 15 South to make improvements and restore the quiet zone.
A Dec. 3 council meeting is scheduled to figure out the next steps.
“We’re working feverishly at this point to make sure all the agreements are in place and we can get this done as soon as possible,” Stephens said.
