8 th Annual Spring Transportation. April 9, 2010

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1 Railroad Quiet Zones Case Studies in Colorado 8 th Annual Spring Transportation Symposium April 9, 2010

2 Railroad Quiet Zones What is a Quiet Zone? A section of a rail line that contains one or more consecutive public crossings at which locomotive horns are not routinely sounded. Use of Locomotive Horns at Highway- Rail Grade Crossings; Final Rule Effective June 2005 Amended August 2006 Requires horns to be sounded to warn motorists at public crossings Provides exceptions where risk is minimized via safety measures Enables communities to establish quiet zones by reducing the risk caused by lack of horns

3 Case Studies in Colorado #1 - Commerce City BNSF South Quiet Zone Full Reconstruction with All New Railroad Equipment #2 - Arvada UPRR Quiet Zone Roadway Approach Work Only #3 - El Paso County BNSF Quiet Zone Quiet Zone Establishment Processing Only

4 Case Study #1: Commerce City Rosemary St Pre- Project Conditions 80 th Ave Rocky Mtn Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge Rosemary & 80 th merged at BNSF crossing Stop controlled

5 Case Study #1: Commerce City Proposed Design R fi d i Reconfigured crossing Fully signalized intersection

6 Case Study #1: Commerce City Construction Offline construction allows existing crossing to remain operational Railroad coordination for approach work is critical

7 Case Study #1: Commerce City Then and Now Pre-Project View Southeast Post-Project View Southeast Pre-Project SH2 SB approach Post-Project SH2 SB approach

8 Case Study #1 Summary Commerce City BNSF South Quiet Zone Project Elements - Timeline - Construction Project underway when Final Rule became effective Reviewed and modified crossing design to include Quiet Zone compliant features Multiple agencies involved Funded by the City Design: April 2005 June 2006 (14 months) Construction Complete: November 2007 (17 months) Quiet Zone Established: November 7, 2007 Construction Costs - Railroad Work: $450,000 (does not include costs for road approaches)

9 Case Study #2: Arvada Pre- Project Conditions Kipling UPRR View South Pierce UPRR View North Existing Railroad Equipment met Requirements for Quiet Zone Compliance Installation of Raised Medians on Approaches would allow for Quiet Zone Establishment

10 Case Study #2: Arvada Proposed Design

11 Case Study #2: Arvada Kipling Pre-Project View South Kipling Post-Project View South Then and Now Pierce Pre-Project View North Pierce Post-Project View North

12 Case Study #2 Summary City of Arvada UPRR Quiet Zone Project Elements - Timeline - City completed study of Quiet Design: Feb Feb. Zone options in-house and 2008 (12 months) determined features to be Construction Complete: implemented August 2008 (7 months) Project included final design Quiet Zone Established: of approach medians August 16, 2008 Funded by the City (Street Construction Costs - and Maintenance Funds) Road Approach Work: Kipling crossing established Kipling - $25,000 as Quiet Zone; Pierce is Pierce - $30,000 being established separately Railroad Work: due to distance Flagging Approx. $800 per 8-hour day

13 Case Study #3: El Paso County Project Conditions Fontaine Blvd Traffic Control Devices: CWT, gates, lights, flashers, bells, raised medians View East of Crossing Fontaine Blvd View West toward Crossing 80 ft. raised median 107 ft. raised median (to nearest access)

14 Case Study #3: El Paso County Project Conditions Main St Traffic Control Devices: CWT, gates, lights, flashers, bells, raised medians 79 ft. raised median (to nearest access) View West toward Crossing 60 ft. raised median View South along Tracks

15 Case Study #3 Summary El Paso County BNSF Quiet Zone Project Elements - Timeline - Construction improvements had already been completed as part of an adjacent project Railroad equipment and Roadway approaches were Quiet Zone compliant Coordination effort funded by County Included 2 crossings: Fontaine and Main Coordination: Feb July 2008 (6 months) No Construction Quiet Zone Established: September 3, 2008 Construction Costs - Road Approach Work: $0 Railroad Work: $0

16 Conclusions Railroad crossings can be evaluated to determine what, if any, improvements are needed for Quiet Zone establishment Process varies depending on existing crossing features and possible improvements Costs of improvements typically borne by the road authority Timeline can range from less than 1 year for coordination efforts to several years for full design and construction