The city of Belle Plaine has established a federally-regulated Quiet Zone, silencing the horns from freight trains that move through the community.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Monday for the Quiet Zone designation. The effort was divided into several projects that began with the closing of a railroad crossing that had difficult sight lines. Another step was highway work and design for the Kansas Highway 55 crossing. The crossing now has a raised median and delineators to keep vehicles from going through lowered crossing arms.
The Quiet Zones have supplemental safety measures to compensate for the train horns, with barriers at the 8th and 100th Avenue crossings.
The Quiet Zone took effect on April 4th and Belle Plaine mayor Greg Harlan said the community is now a “Quiet Little Town.” The city worked with Bartlett Arboretum and the City of Belle Plaine working together on options for creating the Quiet Zone. Sumner County and the Belle Plaine Township were also involved in the process.
