Page 11 - Flathead Beacon // 2.18.15

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS FEBRUARY 18, 2015 | 11 FREE AGAIN
Meadow Brennan, center, and her brother Virgil watch as their father George releases a young female bald eagle near Marion on Feb. 10. George Brennan found the injured bird on the side of U.S. Highway 2 near Marion after it was hit by a semi truck two weeks ago. The eagle, which didn't suffer any broken bones, was rehabilitated by Montana Wild Wings Recovery Center before being released. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
Whitefish, Columbia Falls Eye Quiet Zones for Railroad Crossings
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Birch Point Drive is the only public crossing in Whitefish that is not a quiet zone
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
Some trackside residents in White- fish and Columbia Falls are hoping to get some additional shuteye with the estab- lishment of “quiet zones” at three differ- ent railroad crossings in the area.
City councils in both communities have discussed trying to revamp area railroad crossings so that passing trains will not have to sound their horns as they approach. Quiet zones are a half- mile stretch of tracks where trains will not blow their horn, except in emergency situations. Federal law requires railroad engineers to sound a horn 15 to 20 sec- onds before a train enters a crossing.
In Columbia Falls, Rep. Zac Perry recently tried to introduce a bill in the Legislature that would help communi-
ties get additional state funding via the Treasure State Endowment Program to build quiet zones. The effort was heavily supported by the city of Columbia Falls, which is trying to establish two quiet zone crossings, on Second and Fourth avenues. The bill has since been tabled, but that is unlikely to deter residents who are frustrated by loud locomotive horns.
In Whitefish, the city began look- ing for how to pay for a quiet zone at the Birch Point Drive crossing. Two other crossings in Whitefish, one on East Sec- ond Street and one on State Park Road, are already designated quiet zones.
“The (Birch Point) quiet zone will be the last of three crossings in the city to have been updated to quiet zone stan- dards and it's been on the planning books for a number of years, so we’re very interested in getting this done for area residents,” said Whitefish Mayor John Muhlfeld.
Although the Second Street and State Park crossings cost about $15,000 each to upgrade, according to Muhlfeld,
the Birch Point crossing improvements will cost more than $700,000. The big- gest expense will be widening the road to meet requirements set by the Federal Railroad Administration. According to the city, BNSF Railway has agreed to pay 20 percent of the cost of upgrading the crossing, the Montana Department of Transportation will pick up 40 percent and the city will pick up the rest. Muhl- feld said the city has considered setting up a special improvement district to help cover the costs.
Besides widening the road, a qui- et zone crossing must have additional lights and a gate that blocks traffic. It also needs to have a median on either side of the tracks.
The installation of gates at the Birch Point crossing would also improve safety at the intersection. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FRA, the number of crossing collisions has dropped 82 percent since the 1980s. One reason is that the number of gated crossings has increased by 111 percent.
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