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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2023 0921 Quiet Zone Study 2727 SW SNYDER BOULEVARD | P.O. BOX 1159 | ANKENY, IA 50023-0974 P: 515-964-2020 l F: 515-964-7938 l SNYDER-ASSOCIATES.COM Memorandum To: Anthony Heddlesten, City of Riverdale Brent Morlok, City of Bettendorf Date: September 21, 2023 From: Cindy Spencer, P.E. Wade Greiman, P.E. RE: Proposed Riverdale Quiet Zone Project No. 123.0443.01B Quiet Zone Recommendations The Cities of Bettendorf and Riverdale are investigating the establishment of a railroad quiet zone along the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad (CPKC) tracks, starting at Duck Creek, and continuing to 62nd Street Court. This will be a continuation of quiet zones proposed along the CPKC Tracks in Davenport and Bettendorf, south and west of the proposed Riverdale Quiet Zone. The establishment of quiet zones is described in Federal law, 49 CFR Parts 222 and 229 (“Use of Locomotive Horns at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings”). Per regulations, a locomotive horn does not need to be sounded as trains approach and enter public highway-rail grade crossings if there is not significant risk of loss of life or serious injury; areas that qualify for this exception can be established as a quiet zone. It is worth noting that trains still can blow their horns through quiet zones as they feel necessary, but they are not required to do so. Establishing this quiet zone will require safety improvements throughout the rail corridor, ranging from potentially closing crossings, to upgrading signals and installing medians. The goal of these improvements is to reduce the quiet zone risk index, as calculated by the Federal Railroad Administration Quiet Zone Calculator, so that it is below the risk index with horns, which is the risk present today. Note the Quiet Zone Calculator only accounts for risk to traffic on public roadways and does not account for pedestrians or traffic on private crossings. The majority of the proposed Riverdale quiet zone abuts Arconic Property, and the existing private Arconic crossings are heavily used by employees. The Federal Horn Rule requires private accesses within quiet zones to have stop signs, at a minimum. A study is currently being done to review potential changes to internal Arconic roadways and nearby public roadways to accommodate a grade separated crossing at or near Fenno Road, within the quiet zone study limits. For the purposes of this review, it is assumed that the quiet zone will be established prior to overpass construction. Riverdale Quiet Zone Recommendations September 21, 2023 Page 2 of 4 V:\Projects\2023\123.0443.01B\Administration\Memo_2023-09-21_QZRecommendations.docx The following crossings comprise the proposed quiet zone. Existing conditions and recommended improvements are as stated below. These proposed improvements will result in an adequate quiet zone risk index for establishment of the proposed quiet zone. Roadway Crossings: • South Kensington Street (865-636A): This crossing has stop signs only. Driveways are present approx. 137 feet north and 113 feet south of the tracks. Install 2-quadrant flashing lights and gates and 60 foot long medians on each approach. Overhead electric may need to be relocated to accommodate the new crossing gates. • South Bellingham Street (865-635T): This crossing has 2-quadrant flashing lights and gates. An Arconic access is located immediately south / east of the tracks. Entrances north of the tracks are located more than 60 feet from the crossing. Due to the close Arconic access, 4-quadrant flashing lights and gates are recommended at this location. • Arconic Main Entrance (865-634L): This is a 3-lane (1 eastbound and 2 westbound) private access and not included in the quiet zone calculations. This crossing is equipped with 2-quadrant flashing lights and gates. The pedestrian path adjacent to the entrance also has flashing lights and gates. It is assumed this crossing will remain open even after the Fenno Road grade separation is constructed. Existing crossing protection will be adequate to accommodate a quiet zone, although it may be desirable to construct non-traversable medians on each approach to the crossing to improve crossing safety. • Arconic Parking Lot (865-633E): This is a 2-lane private access and not included in the quiet zone calculations. This roadway is a one-way exit from the parking lots accessed from the Main Entrance and is protected with flashing lights and a gate on approach. It is assumed this crossing will remain open even after the grade separation at or near Fenno Road is constructed. Existing crossing protection will be adequate to accommodate a quiet zone and no additional safety measures are recommended. Per the agreement between the City of Riverdale and the CPKC Railroad, this crossing is slated for closure upon construction of the overpass. Closure will need to be coordinated with Arconic. • Arconic Construction Entrance (865-550R): This is a 2-lane private access and not included in the quiet zone calculations. Staff parking is available on the west side of the crossing, with access to Arconic via a steep (likely not ADA compliant) pedestrian path. This crossing is equipped with 2-quadrant flashing lights and gates. The pedestrian path adjacent to the entrance also has flashing lights and gates. Existing crossing protection will be adequate to accommodate a quiet zone. We recommend a grade separation of the pedestrian path (through a prefabricated steel truss pedestrian bridge, or something similar) as a potential improvement at this location. Per the agreement between the City of Riverdale Riverdale Quiet Zone Recommendations September 21, 2023 Page 3 of 4 V:\Projects\2023\123.0443.01B\Administration\Memo_2023-09-21_QZRecommendations.docx and the CPKC Railroad, this crossing is slated for closure upon construction of the overpass. Closure will need to be coordinated with Arconic. • Power Plant Access (865-632X): This is a 2-lane private access and not included in the quiet zone calculations. This crossing is equipped with flashing lights only, no gates. Existing crossing protection will be adequate to accommodate a quiet zone. Per the agreement between the City of Riverdale and the CPKC Railroad, this crossing is slated for closure upon construction of the overpass. Closure will need to be coordinated with MidAmerican Energy, who owns the crossing, and may be able to be accomplished prior to overpass construction. • Power Plant Access – Siding Crossings (907-242E): The Power Plant Access crosses 3 siding tracks approximately 265 feet from the main CPKC crossing. Note these siding tracks are not part of the mainline and will not be included in the proposed quiet zone. These tracks are not protected by stop signs or other safety measures. It is assumed that this crossing will be closed once the grade separation is complete at or near Fenno Road. If not, we recommend stop signs be installed in each direction prior to the crossing. • Fenno Road (865-631R): This crossing has 2-quadrant flashing lights and gates. A grade separation is proposed for this location, which would close the at-grade crossing at a future date. In its current configuration, the closest accesses are located 120 feet north and 300 feet south of the crossing. Install 60 foot long non- traversable medians at this location. • 62nd Street Court (865-629P): This crossing is in Bettendorf and has 2-quadrant flashing lights and gates. The closest entrances are located 117 feet west of the tracks and 115 feet east of the tracks. Install 60 foot long non-traversable medians at this location. We recommend the reconstruction of the access to the Bee Line property (southeast quadrant of the crossing) and the southwest roadway gutter line to ensure the effectiveness of the medians and make the configuration of the roadway less confusing. With the proposed improvements, the Quiet Zone Risk Index will be 2,393.13, which is much lower than the Risk Index With Horns of 7,389.02. Pedestrian Safety: Pedestrian crossings within the proposed quiet zone all appear to be well protected. As mentioned, it would be recommended that a grade separated pedestrian crossing be provided within the Arconic site to the staff parking lot at the Construction Entrance. Pedestrian access should be considered on the new grade separation structure at or near Fenno Road. Costs The cost for establishing the quiet zone as outlined in this memo is estimated at $758,725. Note these costs are estimates only. Actual costs for signals, gates, and other rail equipment will not Riverdale Quiet Zone Recommendations September 21, 2023 Page 4 of 4 V:\Projects\2023\123.0443.01B\Administration\Memo_2023-09-21_QZRecommendations.docx be known until we discuss the issue with CPKC and determine whether existing components can be reused or will need to be replaced. This breaks out as follows: Kensington Street $309,800 Bellingham Street $403,800 Fenno Road $15,000 62nd Street $30,125 TOTAL $758,725 Other potential costs may be encountered in the process of establishing the quiet zone, including right-of-way or easement costs, roadway design costs, and signal design costs (cost sharing with railroad). These costs are not known at this time and have not been factored into the cost estimates listed above. Moving Forward If the City decides to move forward with the quiet zone(s), the following steps will need to be taken Per FRA : • Hold a diagnostic team meeting with the FRA and Canadian Pacific Railroad. • Install identified supplemental safety measures at each location in the quiet zone (2- quadrant gates with medians or 4-quadrant gates). • The rail companies will need to update the National Grade Crossing Inventory for each crossing to reflect the new status. • Provide written Notice of Intent to establish a quiet zone to the Canadian Pacific Railroad, the Iowa DOT Rail Office, the FRA, and any owners operating private crossings within the quiet zone. • At least 60 days after mailing the Notice of Intent, mail a notice of Quiet Zone Establishment. Refer to 49 CFR Part 222 for additional information.