City Receives $1.1 Million DOT Grant to Further Planning Efforts for Railroad Quiet Zone
CITY RECEIVES $1.1 MILLION DOT GRANT TO FURTHER PLANNING EFFORTS FOR RAILROAD QUIET ZONE
City officials pleased to receive highly-competitive DOT award
RAPID CITY, SD—The US Department of Transportation last week announced Rapid City is one of nearly 150 communities and entities nationwide to share $1.8 billion in grant awards through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) project.
The City’s RAISE grant is $1.1 million. City officials indicate the award is one of the most competitive grants through DOT, which reviewed nearly $13 billion in grant requests while funding $1.8 billion in grant awards.
Rapid City’s project will undertake a planning study to further pursue a railroad quiet zone in the downtown area by improving safety and minimizing the impacts of train movements at multiple rail crossings throughout Rapid City’s downtown corridor. Safety improvements will include integrating pedestrian safety and ADA compliant features as well as the safety features needed to implement a railroad quiet zone.
“We are very pleased to be among the communities nationwide to receive a RAISE grant,” said City Grants Division Manager Jamie Toennies. “With nearly thirteen billion in requests and to only fund a fraction of the amount requested, it’s a very competitive process with requests thoroughly vetted and reviewed.
“We continue to explore options that may be available for the City to consider and pursue additional resources that can help address community concerns, issues and needs. This can be especially important during challenging economic times and tight budgets.”
City Long Range Planning Manager Kip Harrington says the grant award allows the City to continue working on an issue important to community officials, business leaders and residents.
“This grant award will allow us to further address an important and compelling issue facing our downtown area which is the noise, safety and traffic impacts of trains in the area,” said Harrington. “The downtown quiet zone is an issue that has continued to gain steam in recent years and was placed on the back burner due to funding. This grant award will allow us to kick-start the process and plans.”
The quiet zone project started in 2016 when business owners approached City leaders with concerns about excessive noise and business impacts. Because of the close proximity of the downtown railroad crossings, trains sound their horns continuously through the downtown area. Business owners have reported they can hear train horns for a full half hour, regardless of the time of day. Nearby hotels have provided guests with ear plugs to help them sleep at night. One hotel operation claims to hand out 50,00 ear plugs each year.
Mayor Steve Allender created a task force to identify possible solutions. A feasibility study was completed in 2018 but funding was not available for further development. Toennies says the DOT grant will allow the City to update the plan and add new elements including ADA and pedestrian safety features not included in the 2018 plan and begin preliminary engineering design.
The grant is for planning and preliminary design work and will position the city to seek additional grant funds to cover construction costs of implementing the safety and compliance features. The project location includes the rail crossings at Maple Avenue, East Boulevard, First Street, Second Street, Third Street, Fifth Street, Sixth Street, Seventh Street, Mount Rushmore Road, West Boulevard and 11th Street.
Toennies said there is no local match required with the DOT grant award. The City would utilize the funds this upcoming winter through the end of 2026. City officials plan to present the grant agreement to the City Council for consideration and approval in August.