City wants to close railroad crossing

Staff report
The city of Jefferson will hold a public meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall to gather input from residents about a proposal to close the railroad crossing at North Wilson Avenue.

Since construction of the Elm Street overpass in 2012, use of the crossing has declined, according to the city.

The possible closure would contribute to reducing noise from train horns.

Project engineer Snyder & Associates will have a representative at the meeting to present information, answer questions and document suggestions and concerns.

Jefferson’s plan for implementing a town-wide “quiet zone” has been slow to unfold, and is nearly as old as the 2005 federal statute that established a national standard for when a locomotive must sound its horn before entering a public crossing.

In creating the Train Horn Rule, the Federal Railroad Administration also provided the criteria for how communities can go about creating quiet zones, in which trains no longer routinely sound horns at crossings.

The city previously envisioned closing four of six public railroad crossings, but has closed only two to date, including the Pinet Street crossing in 2014.

It’s believed as many as 75 trains a day pass through Jefferson, each one sounding a horn for 15 to 20 seconds before entering the remaining crossings.