Diagnostic reviews will begin this summer at railroad crossings around the state of Wyoming to determine what improvements are needed to create railroad quiet zones under a program funded by the 2011 Legislature.

Lawmakers appropriated $5 million for improvements at crossings in Wyoming communities most affected by train noise. Those communities were identified by a study completed in 2009.

That study looked at all communities with a population of more than 100 that have more than two trains passing through every day. It identified the top priorities as the Cheyenne Union Pacific corridor, Gillette, the Cheyenne BSNF corridor, Laramie, Torrington, Casper, Sheridan, Newcastle, Evanston, Lusk, Rawlins and Wheatland.

"This is both a quality of life and a safety issue," said Gregg Fredrick, WYDOT's assistant chief engineer."The community is going to benefit from not having the trains sound their horns at each crossing, but the safety at these crossings will not be diminished."

Among the solutions that will be considered are installing directional wayside horns, two-quadrant gates with medians or four-quadrant gate systems. Those improvements eliminate the need for locomotives to blow their horns as they approach railroad crossings.

Where directional wayside horns are installed, the approach of a train triggers quieter horns directed specifically at traffic on the roads that cross the track. Where more elaborate gate systems and median barriers are installed, no horn is required to sound because the gates prevent traffic from crossing the tracks when a train is in the area.

The 2009 study recommends wayside horns be installed at more than half of the 84 railroad crossings in the top-priority communities. At a third of the crossings it recommends installation of two-quadrant gates with median barriers to prevent vehicles from driving around the gates. At four crossings the study recommends installation of four crossing gates to prevent traffic from crossing the tracks in any direction in any lane.

The diagnostic reviews to decide what improvements should be made will be completed by teams made up of representatives of WYDOT, the railroads, the Federal Railroad Administration and the local community.

Once the reviews are completed and local and railroad agreements are in place, the contracts for the design and construction of the improvements will be awarded.