The Carroll City Council is inching closer to a decision on the latest proposals to mitigate train horn noise from the dozens of trains that run through town daily. Support for the idea has been steadily growing among council members, and Public Works Director Randy Krauel says they are now at a point where formal action is needed to proceed.
The push for train horn mitigation in Carroll has come up sporadically over the last two decades but was always shelved due to the prohibitively high cost to implement one. However, new policies for safety determinations permit less stringent measures, which are generally cheaper, with the caveat that they are evaluated more frequently by inspectors. At-Large Councilman LaVern Dirkx says he has researched this issue extensively in recent months and believes the way forward is through the use of wayside horns at specific locations. These horns are installed at each crossing and are sounded directionally instead of the engine’s omnidirectional horn. Dirkx shared his experience from a recent visit to Blair, Neb. where similar equipment is installed.
Wayside horn-equipped crossings are not included in the safety calculations, so a median would need to be added at several in-town intersections to meet the quiet zone criteria. Several businesses located along the tracks expressed concerns this would negatively impact their ability to load and unload freight or hamper parking, but Dirkx says they may have found a solution through the use of shortened medians, called Alternate Safety Measures (ASM).
Construction/installation costs for Dirkx’s proposal are estimated at $751,000. Design costs and Union Pacific fees would likely push the total cost to over $1 million. However, Dirkx notes that it is still several million dollars lower than any previous option they’ve had. Several council members indicated they were concerned these costs could change significantly over the next several years, which is how long it will take to go through the design and approval process before construction could begin. No decision was made during the June 27 meeting, but the council directed city staff to reengage with the engineering firm for more information for additional discussion, likely during their August meetings.
