Salt Lake City authorizes temporary 1000 West closure in effort to restore ‘quiet zones’

SALT LAKE CITY — A small section of 1000 West may soon close as part of a multicity effort to restore the Wasatch Front’s “quiet zones” after they were suspended in late September.

The Salt Lake City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to authorize the temporary closure of the road between South Temple and 15 South, blocking off one of the last remaining railroad crossings that’s holding up the quiet zone restoration. The suspension has meant train operators have sounded their horns at every crossing from Ogden to Provo during every hour of the day, generating many complaints from residents who live near railroad tracks.

Salt Lake City Council Chairwoman Victoria Petro, whose district includes many impacted communities on the west side, expressed relief after the vote.

The section closed is where four railroad tracks cross 1000 West. It and a crossing in North Salt Lake were identified as the two remaining deficient crossings within the Woods Cross quiet zone, a pocket from Ogden through Salt Lake City’s northern half where train operators aren’t required to blow their horns unless there’s an emergency.

The zones were established through a Federal Railroad Administration program nearly two decades ago regulating how horns are used. However, those zones were suspended on Sept. 30 when the agency said multiple crossings had fallen out of code both within the Woods Cross and Lehi zones. The latter stretches from Salt Lake City to Provo.

Agency officials said all of the crossings within a zone have to be up to code before a zone is reinstated. Salt Lake City opted to close 1000 West because it determined it might be the fastest way to get the zone reestablished, as project scoping can take as much as 18 months, according to the city.

Salt Lake City engineer Mark Stephens explained last month that the ordinance would “preemptively help” the city close the road should the administration agree that it could get the zone reinstated. It wouldn’t go into effect if it’s denied.

The ordinance allows the closure to last as long as two years if necessary, while drivers can detour through South Temple or Folsom Avenue. City leaders intended to approve the measure in its Nov. 19 meeting, but the vote was held up by a notifying error that city staff noticed earlier that day.

The loss of the quiet zones has been a touchy subject for impacted cities and residents along the line.

Stephens said the city first learned of the crossing’s issues over the summer. Salt Lake City and other cities reported a similar experience, including difficulties in finding contractors to get any fixes completed.

He added that regional administration employees had assured cities that zones wouldn’t be suspended as long as cities were working toward making corrections. Planning was underway when the zones were abruptly suspended.

It’s still unclear when either quiet zone will return. A commercial driveway at 1700 South in Salt Lake City was deemed the final holdup in the Lehi zone, Lehi officials reported on Nov. 20. The city expected that the issue there would be worked on in December before a final inspection.

The agency would have to sign off on Salt Lake City and North Salt Lake plans before the Woods Cross section returns, too.

However, the new ordinance offered those impacted most some hope. Shortly before the vote, a few residents pleaded with the city to approve anything that could possibly reestablish the zones not just for themselves but for many other residents across the Wasatch Front.

“I have not had, personally, a full night’s sleep since the zone was lifted,” said resident Heather Bogden, explaining that train horns sound at all hours of the day. “And if it impacts me, I think of the thousands of people from Provo to Ogden that are being impacted every single day.”