Rezin Convenes Summit on Coal City Quiet Zone
COAL CITY, IL – Local, state, and federal officials converged at Coal City Village Hall on Monday with engineers and railroad executives to discuss crossing closures and safety upgrades needed to meet Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) guidelines for the establishment of a quiet zone in Coal City. The meeting, organized by Senator Sue Rezin (R-Morris) at the request of Mayor Neal Nelson and Village Administrator Matt Fritz, noted the quality of life impact on local homeowners, classrooms, and property values from the approximately 60-70 trains per-day and nearly 600 train horn pulls from BNSF trains traveling through the village.
A quiet zone is an area designated for the silencing of the routine sounding of a train horn at a grade crossing in order to decrease the noise level for nearby residential communities. The train horns can be silenced only when other safety measures compensate for the absence of the horns.
Mayor Nelson and Village Administrator Fritz noted steps the village has already taken towards meeting FRA quiet zone guidelines, including the completion of a study and the closure of one the village’s eight crossings (at Oak Street) with plans to close two additional crossings (at Kankakee Street and Lincoln Street, respectively). The Village reiterated their willingness to allocate funds toward safety upgrades at the two most high-traffic crossings on Division Street and Broadway Street, but remain far short of the total estimated project cost of $775K.
Safety measures deemed suitable by the FRA for the designation of a quiet zone include the construction of four-quadrant gate systems, erection of concrete median barriers, conversion of a two-way street to a one-way street at a crossing, and closure of crossings along a quiet zone route. Coal City’s plan includes closure of the three aforementioned crossings and safety upgrades at the Broadway Street and Division Street crossings.
“Coal City has worked diligently for several years towards improving the quality of life for local residents by seeking to establish a quiet zone along the BNSF Railroad Corridor,” Senator Rezin noted. “This meeting was to get all parties at the table to discuss how we can move this project forward. Securing the necessary funding has been the road block for several years. There were a couple of new ideas that were proposed which the village will continue to explore.”
State and federal officials offered to write letters of support to their respective Transportation agencies to help the village request additional funding; the availability of which remains in doubt.
“Safety improvements at railroad crossings are essential,” said State Rep. Pam Roth (R-Morris), who also attended the meeting. “Especially when compensating for the silencing of train horns in a quiet zone, we must ensure that all our local railroad crossings meet the strong safety guidelines in place to protect local residents and commuter traffic.”
A representative from the offices of U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D) and Mark Kirk (R) and U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-11th) attended the meeting in addition to officials from the Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois Commerce Commission, Federal Railroad Administration, BNSF Railway, and village officials from Coal City and Streator.