(The following article by Guy Tridgell was posted on the Chicago Daily Southtown’s website on July 10.)
CHICAGO — The blare of train horns along a major freight railroad through the South Side is close to being silenced.
The Illinois Commerce Commission and CSX have agreed to install “quad gates” at 11 crossings between 87th and 123rd streets, a stretch touching Blue Island, Merrionette Park, Evergreen Park and Chicago’s Mount Greenwood and Beverly communities.
In exchange for the state earmarking $3 million for construction, CSX will agree to stop sounding horns at the crossings, creating the first “quiet zone” along a rail line in the city or suburbs.
Installed in rural areas last year for the debut of high-speed rail in Illinois, quad gates are new to the Chicago area, according to state officials.
How they perform in residential areas will be watched closely by towns and neighborhoods frustrated by the annoying blasts from passing trains.
“This is new ground,” said one railroad official. “This will be a showcase for a quiet zone.”
State Rep. Kevin Joyce (D-Chicago) worked to get money for the gates in a bill that pays for millions of dollars worth of bricks-and-mortar projects. The legislation passed June 27, starting the clock on a 60-day deadline for Gov. Rod Blagojevich to approve it or send it back for more work.
“It is on the governor’s desk. I haven’t received any indication one way or the other if he is going to sign it,” Joyce said. “Our goal is to have it in place when people open their windows after the winter, when kids are on their bikes.”
While Joyce is hopeful Blagojevich will sign the measure, squabbling between lawmakers and the governor over how the state should solve its budget woes might be a problem. A Blagojevich spokeswoman said he is still reviewing the legislation.
But the agreement signals a break between the state and the railroads about how to best mute the jarring howl of trains as they intersect with busy streets.
At the root of the dispute is a pending Federal Railroad Administration rule requiring trains to sound their whistles before entering crossings without state-of-the-art safety improvements. The rule, first proposed in 2000 to cut down on train-vehicle collisions, likely will take effect later this summer, state officials said.
Absent the new rule, the railroads have been ordering any trains on their tracks to use their horns day and night as a precaution.
The persistent noise has suburbs and Chicago neighborhoods built around railroads looking for relief.
“It was the No. 1 issue we deal with as far as complexity,” Chicago Ald. Virginia Rugai (19th) said. “It was a major change for people who lived near the railroad their entire lives.”
Rugai’s office calculated more than 1,000 train horns blow through her Southwest Side ward each day.
“If your baby is sleeping, if you are working different shifts, if you are talking on the phone next to an open window — it is quality of life,” Rugai said. “Hopefully this resolves it.”
The quad gates cover multiple lanes of traffic instead of the single lane at conventional crossing gates, an effect that essentially blocks vehicles from driving onto the tracks. Electronic detection devices are installed to make sure cars do not get trapped between the closed arms.
Joyce said the new gates will be enough to keep trains quiet once the new federal rules are enacted. Existing raised medians at 87th, 95th and 103rd streets already keep trains silent at those crossings.
The final result, Joyce said, will be a whistle-free zone involving 14 crossings between 87th and 127th streets.
Joyce said CSX initially was reluctant to commit to the project.
“It has always been a matter of how they were going to pay for it,” Joyce said. “Once we got the money for them, they didn’t have a way out.”
The company, however, will be obligated to pay for future maintenance costs.
CSX issued a statement pledging to work with the state but stressing the gates are not a done deal.
“We are at the very early stages,” a spokesman said. “It is really inappropriate to speculate at this point about what is needed.”