News
Downtown Sealed Corridor Project Complete
A sealed corridor of five railroad crossings downtown has been
completed. This sealed corridor consists of new gates installed
where the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad intersects with
Greenwood Avenue, Elgin Avenue, Cheyenne Avenue, Elwood Avenue and
Guthrie Avenue.
These new gates are safer than the gates they have replaced.
Instead of two short arms, these "quad gates" have four long arms
that prevent vehicles from driving between them onto the railroad
tracks. This project also includes a loop detector system that will
detect a vehicle inside the gates and allow it to exit the railroad
crossing before the gate arms come down.
The sealed corridor, also known as a "quiet zone," requires
railroad engineers to not blow their horns except in an emergency.
Safety always is the highest priority if a warning is needed at a
railroad crossing. Completion of this project likely will result in
quieter surroundings for residents and businesses in the vicinity
of these downtown railroad crossings.
The downtown sealed corridor project received funding of
$750,000 through the 2006 Third Penny Sales Tax and a $1,481,159
federal appropriation for Safety Hazard Elimination.
This project originated in discussions between the City of Tulsa
and property owners in the Brady Village, the first Tax Increment
Financed area in the downtown Central Business District. Brady
Village property owners suggested that a sealed corridor along the
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad would encourage ongoing
downtown revitalization.
Meanwhile the Federal Railroad Administration was looking for
ways to enhance safety at railroad crossings and to regulate horn
blowing at the federal level instead of at the state level. If
safer gates were installed at crossings, trains wouldn't have to
blow their horns and take on the extra liability.
The project was approved for funding through the 2001 Third
Penny Sales Tax, but a shortfall caused the project to be deferred
to the 2006 Third Penny Sales Tax. Voters did approve it again in
2006, and the project has moved forward to completion.
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