Lockport Moves Forward With Review For Quiet Zone

LOCKPORT, IL — The Lockport City Council approved an agreement with BNSF Railway for preliminary engineering services work for quiet zone projects at its Wednesday meeting.

According to the Federal Rail Administration, in a quiet zone, railways are told to stop sounding their horns when approaching public rail crossings. Horns may still be used in emergency situations, the administration notes. Without a quiet zone, a train must begin to sound its horns at least 15 seconds, and no more than 20 seconds, before all public crossings.

The Federal Rail Administration also legislates and administers quiet zones for all railroads in the country, no matter which track or company is operating on the railroad, according to council documents.

One of the first steps in evaluating which crossings are eligible for a quiet zone is a diagnostic review, which requires the engineering agreement with BNSF.

Council documents state the Ninth Street BNSF crossing has about 65 trains a day. The city has already partnered with IDOT and BNSF for some upgrades on the crossing to meet minimum quiet zone standards, and it is now ready to be further evaluated.

The cost of the diagnostic review is $14,620, and the City has budgeted funds for the review and any capital improvements which the review may recommend, according to council documents.

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