The following is a press release from the City of Boone
BOONE, Iowa—City administrator Bill Skare has contacted the Union Pacific Railroad, calling on the Omaha-based transportation company to review continued train blockages of street crossings and shortcomings with its complaint-reporting system.
Mayor John Slight has noted that the years-long effort to build a Highway 17 overpass above the UP tracks east of Boone and its opening on Dec. 9, 2022, were always intended to ease and reduce crossing blockages from Quartz Avenue through the city limits. However, he experienced a train blocking the Greene Street crossing for more than 20 minutes on the evening of Saturday, June 10. Citizens called Slight to report the crossing was blocked at least four more times on Monday, June 12.
“The city, county, state and Union Pacific worked together for years to address the issue of trains blocking crossings in town. It’s a safety issue for the public and an inconvenience,” Slight said. “I know that if we all work together we can make things much better for everyone.”
Slight also called attention to problems with the railroad’s posting of a phone number to report blocked crossings. “It’s simply not visible to anyone sitting in a vehicle at the crossing. Reading it requires driving almost right up to the crossing gates and that’s not safe or acceptable,” he said. “Even when people can read the number and call it, it seems as though it’s rarely or ever answered. “The UP needs to fix that problem, too.”
Skare registered the City’s concerns with a UP representative, saying the railroad’s signage with the complaint line number is too small and Slight has directed City staff to erect “our own signs … with UP info on them and place them at each crossing in the City right-of-way so our citizens can actually see the number and call it.”
Meanwhile, Council Terry Moorman contacted U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst about challenges the City is having with UP, including crossing repair needs, the deteriorating viaduct as well as trains blocking intersections for long periods. Drew Toland, a Federal Railroad Administration safety inspector, contacted Moorman and visited Boone on Friday.
Toland recommended that the public visit www.railroads.dot.gov/railway-safety to report safety concerns or any problems that they experience. Citizens should also log on to www.fra.gov.dot/blockedcrossings or call the blocked crossings toll-free number 1-800-848-8715.
“I understand that the frequency of complaints from the general public carries more weight with them than official complaints from the city,” Moorman said. “If the blocked-crossing website and number receive even four or five complaints each month, the Federal Railroad Administration team will launch an investigation. That’s encouraging news, but it also means we genuinely need the public’s participation and help to address the issue.”
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