Letter of Appreciation to Our Utah Leaders in Reinstating the Woods Cross Quiet Zone
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Matt Holton of Stokes Strategies played a pivotal role in organizing and facilitating discussions among Congresswoman Celeste Maloy, Senator John Curtis, Woods Cross City Manager Bryce K. Haderlie, and key stakeholders—including the FRA, Union Pacific, Patriot Rail, North Salt Lake, Woods Cross, and Kaysville—to swiftly restore the Woods Cross Quiet Zone. Credit also goes to Blake Moore’s office (Lisa Roskelley), Senator Lee (Justin and staff), and all members of the federal delegation who engaged in conversations about the quiet zone. Thanks to their leadership and collaborative efforts, a process initially expected to take up to two years was addressed immediately.
The restoration of the Quiet Zone is a significant win for the community, reducing train horn noise and improving livability for those along the Wasatch Front. Kaysville residents, along with all who live in the region, deeply appreciate the strong leadership and dedication of those who step up to get things done.
Woods Cross City Press Release For:
Federal Railroad Administration Waiver Approval for FRA-2024-0124 in the Woods Cross Quiet Zone
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) granted approval on 3/18/2025 of the joint waiver application (FRA-2024-0124) for the North Salt Lake Main Street and Salt Lake City 1000 W railroad crossings. In summary, the waiver is approved with the condition that the cities:
1. Work to bring the crossings into compliance with 49 CFR Part 222 must begin as soon as practicable.
2. Crossing No. 805836V [100 W in Salt Lake City] must be closed and protected by Approved Supplementary Safety Measure A.5 as outlined in 49 CFR Part 222, Appendix A (Permanent Closure of a Public Highway-Rail Grade Crossing) until both crossings subject to this relief are brought into compliance with 49 CFR Part 222.”
The requirement of #2 include:
a. The closure system must completely block highway traffic from entering the grade crossing.
b. Barricades and signs used for closure of the roadway shall conform to the standards contained in the MUTCD.
c. The closure system must be tamper and vandal resistant to the same extent as other traffic control devices.
d. Since traffic will be redistributed among adjacent crossings, the traffic counts for adjacent crossings shall be increased to reflect the diversion of traffic from the closed crossing.
The FRA indicated that they will send the railroads the directive immediately to stop sounding the train horns with the understanding that Salt Lake City is working quickly to close 1000 West at the crossing. The railroads typically have seven days to comply with the FRA directive.
Union Pacific has indicated that they have raised the priority and shortened the construction schedules for both projects. We appreciate the concerted efforts of all parties to work towards an amicable solution that quiets the train horns immediately while these remaining two crossings are brought into compliance.
We also want to acknowledge the support and influence of our members of Congress, state and local leaders, legislators, and agencies throughout Utah that have supported the efforts to overcome this challenge.
A copy of the FRA waiver approval letter is attached as a separate file.
FRA-2024-0124 Decision Letter 2025
THR-111670 Woods Cross Conditional Compliance Letter
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February 21, 2025 Update:
Salt Lake City (SLC), North Salt Lake (NSL), and Woods Cross (WX) staff were surprised to learn that an additional comment period ending March 17, 2025, has been added to Docket ID FRA-2024-0124 for the Salt Lake City waiver which has had the North Salt Lake waiver added to it.
To comment, go to: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FRA-2024-0124/document and click on the comment box as shown in the image below:
NOTE: To ensure that your comment is considered and added to the docket, open and review the “Commenter’s Checklist” below the “Write a Comment” heading at the top of the page as shown in this image:
The checklist ensures that your comments contain the information necessary to be added to the docket. Information in the Document Details tab and Docket Documents tab will provide additional information for the waiver.
While NSL resubmitted their waiver application on November 4th, 2024, and SLC on November 7th, 2024, the cities were asked by the FRA on December 11th to combine the applications, which they completed that same day.
The Regulations.gov website where the waiver applications are located shows that the combined application was received by the FRA on December 11 and posted on January 13, 2025. To our knowledge, the FRA has not set a date for the waiver meeting with the Railroad Safety Board.
We appreciate the efforts of Congresswoman Celste Maloy and Congressman Burgess Owens and their staff for meeting with FRA staff on January 7th to discuss the remaining steps of the waiver process and “urge the Administration to collaborate with us in reinstating the quiet zones. If there are specific concerns or barriers preventing reinstatement, we ask that the FRA provide full and candid details regarding these concerns, along with actionable recommendations to resolve them.” Letter to James Miner, Government Affairs, Federal Railroad Administration, from Congresswoman Celeste Maloy’s Chief of Staff Brian Wheat, and Outreach Coordinator, Cody Schlottman, January 7, 2025.
In the past week, Senator John Curtis, Senator Ted Cruz and other members of Congress have lobbied Union Pacific Railroad executives to expedite the SLC and NSL projects that are in Union Pacific’s control. This has opened a series of positive communications that appear to be helping move the projects forward more quickly and we will provide updates as information is available.
Until the two signal arms are installed, the cities continue to explore alternative ways to comply with the FRA regulations. Local, state, and federal leaders, businesses, and other influential members in our communities are putting their time, efforts, and money into finding solutions.
Restoring the quiet zone remains our top priority to restore peace and quiet to the neighborhoods that are severely impacted by the train horns. Please join us in sharing your input through the FRA comment process mentioned above and thank you for your patience and support.
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Efforts to reinstate the 49-mile quiet zone from Ogden to Salt Lake City remain ongoing. Two railroad crossings remain non-compliant—Main Street in North Salt Lake and 1000 West in Salt Lake City. Both cities are working to resolve the issues and expedite the reinstatement of the Woods Cross Quiet Zone.
In December, the cities filed a waiver application with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requesting that the quiet zone be reinstated, with the exception that train horns continue to be required at the two non-compliant crossings instead of at every crossing from Ogden to Salt Lake City.
Although both cities have allocated funds for the necessary improvements, Union Pacific mandates that only its authorized contractors perform work on railroad infrastructure. Construction plans have been submitted for approval, but Union Pacific estimates approval and completion may take 18–24 months.
Woods Cross, North Salt Lake, and Salt Lake City are working with state representatives to explore solutions to expedite relief from the train horns.
On February 4, 2025, the FRA assigned a new docket number to the joint waiver submitted by North Salt Lake and Salt Lake City. The FRA is currently accepting public comments and will continue to do so until March 17.
You can view the waiver and submit comments here: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FRA-2024-0124-0004
North Salt Lake has been proactive in posting updates (as they are directly involved), and you can find more information on their website: https://nslcity.org/1025/2024-Railroad-Quiet-Zone
Posted 2/11/2025