(La Porte, IN) - The sound of train horns in La Porte could be a thing of the past very soon, as Mayor Tom Dermody says a federal Quiet Zone designation could become official by the end of this month.

 

He said federal railroad officials were here recently and instructed the city to make some minor changes, involving safety markings at the crossings for the nearly completed approvals process to keep moving forward.

 

“The Federal Railroad Administration was very complimentary on all of the work that has been done by the City of La Porte and we’re just tying up a few loose ends,” he said.

 

The city has been working toward Quiet Zone designation for a number of years, in response to complaints from residents about train horns blaring every half or so because of the amount of traditionally heavy freight train traffic.

 

The requirements included the installation of four gates at all of the crossings to prevent motorists from veering around and possibly winding up in the path of a train.

 

Dermody said he fully expects the designation to be stamped sometime before November 30th.