Wasatch Front residents upset over trains honking horns, officials seek solution

SALT LAKE CITY — Residents all along the Wasatch Front are upset over the constant blaring of train horns at crossings.

The sounding of horns is happening at all hours of the day from Ogden to Provo, which was once a quiet zone for trains.

“I’m freeking irritated with it,” said Holly Wayman, who lives in Woods Cross with a train crossing just across the street from her home. “It’s so annoying. It’s so loud. All night long, all day long.” 

Jason Young lives in American Fork, with a crossing just a block away. He said it’s driving his family crazy, keeping them up throughout the night. He also said it’s causing problems for him at his work-from-home office during the day.

“It’s a huge disturbance,” he said. “Very upsetting. For three weeks now, it has impacted my life.” 

Three weeks ago the Federal Railroad Administration required horns to be honked at all crossing from Ogden to Provo because of non-compliance to safety issues at several crossings. 

City liaisons with the railroad administration have been established from Ogden to Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City to Provo. 

Bryce Haderlie, the city manager for Woods Cross City, handles Ogden to Salt Lake City.

He said right now there are two remaining crossings in Layton that are expected to be completed this week. However, he said they just had another two crossing that have popped up on the radar for the railroad administration. They are in North Salt Lake, and Salt Lake City. 

Haderlie said he will be talking to the railroad administration later this week to see if they can stop the horn honking once the Layton crossings are done and work on the North Salt Lake and Salt Lake City sites. 

All crossings must comply

“We are asking the Federal Railroad Administration to allow us to provide some short term mediation that could last until that construction is done taking place,” he said to.  

He said the problem is if one crossing doesn’t comply then they all don’t comply. 

“The FRA treats this as all one zone and if there is any crossings out of compliance and they deem it a safety issue they can require the trains to sound at every crossing throughout the entire crossing zones,” he said. 

Luke Seegmiller, a Lehi City engineer, is the liaison with the railroad administration from Salt Lake City to Provo. He said they have three remaining crossings to complete. The two crossings in Lehi and one in unincorporated Utah County he said will be done this week. 

But he also said three more crossing sites have popped up on the s railroad administration’s radar. Those include one in American Fork, one in the Orem-Provo area, which covers the other side of the crossing and one in Salt Lake City.

He also plans to talk to railroad administration officials this week to try and get the honking to stop once the Lehi and Utah County crossings are in compliance. He says UTA has also offered to help with their contractor for one of the crossings. 

“We’re working on it as hard as we can, doing it as fast as we can, and we’re collaborating and working together. We appreciate, UTA partnering with us. Just like to ask (people) for their patience and just understanding that we’re working as hard on this as we can,” Seegmiller said.

So as of right now there still is no definitive date as to when the honking will stop. 

“I’m very angry,” Young said.