WACO, Texas (KXXV) — The City of Waco is working to establish a quiet zone in downtown from Peach Street to 13th Street, with construction expected to begin in early 2026. Hotel Herringbone, located along the railroad tracks on 4th Street, continues to experience unpredictable train noise at all hours.
- The City of Waco approved a quiet zone project in 2021, but construction isn't expected to begin until early 2026 and could take up to 24 months to complete
- Original funding for the quiet zone was $4.2 million, but costs have increased to $6.55 million, with city construction costs estimated at $11.1 million
- Hotel management is asking the city to establish and stick to firm deadlines for the quiet zone project to prevent further business losses in downtown Waco.
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Downtown Waco businesses and hotels continue to battle with disruptive train noise while the city's quiet zone project faces significant delays and increased costs.
Hotel Herringbone, located along the railroad tracks on 4th Street, has been dealing with the issue since opening over a year ago. The unpredictable train schedule has impacted their business.
"There's a train blasting at 2 a.m., the timing is so unpredictable, that it makes it very intricate to be able to explain that to our guests," said General Manager of Hotel Herringbone, Adriana Regan
The noise problem extends beyond just one property, affecting multiple downtown accommodations.
"I know some people who are staying at the AC, some people are staying at the Indigo, they all still hear the train as well," said Corey McEntyre, a Hotel Herringbone partner.
When asked if guests have indicated they won't return because of the train noise, the hotel management sadly confirmed, "Yes."
The City of Waco approved data collection for establishing a quiet zone from Peach Street to 13th Street in 2021. Four years later, the project is only now entering the design phase, with construction not expected to begin until early 2026. Once started, construction could take between 18 to 24 months.
"How fast we move on this decision and on this project has consequences, and a lot of those businesses are suffering those consequences," Regan said.
City officials say they're still coordinating with Union Pacific Railroad, and the schedule could change. Meanwhile, downtown businesses worry about the impact on their bottom line.
"We appreciate that they're looking into this, we truly do. All we ask is give us a deadline and stick to the deadline so that we can make the town better, and that all of our efforts to bring traffic and people to Waco are not wasted," Regan said.
The city doesn't have access to Union Pacific's formal train schedule. The original funding for the quiet zone was $4.2 million, but after years of supply chain issues and inflation, that estimate has increased to $6.55 million. The city now estimates their construction costs to be around $11.1 million.
The construction project would include street, storm, water and wastewater improvements, signage, electrical work, quiet zone crossing needs, fencing, sidewalk, sewer, and track support.
The City of Waco provided a list of what they would be constructing:
The City of Waco is constructing water, sewer, paving, sidewalk, curb and gutter, and fencing to meet the new UPRR QZ crossing needs. UPRR will be performing the new railroad signal, track support (as needed), signage, electrical, and communication(s) work in order to safely accommodate vehicular and pedestrian traffic in this zone.
When asked why the timeline is a lengthy process the city responded with the following:
The City of Waco has invested heavily in capital improvement projects in the last nine years; numerous projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Unfortunately, there have been several significant events that have impacted some project schedules. COVID disrupted project schedules via supply chain uncertainty and labor force instability. Five years later, the City still sees longer than pre-COVID delivery times on certain types of equipment (large generators, electrical gear, pumps, etc.) Several large transportation projects in the last few years have been good for the community, but these projects tightened local resource availability (concrete, steel, labor) and added construction time. Lastly, inflation continues to have a significant impact on project schedules. Since 2019, costs for infrastructure projects in Waco have significantly increased. Consider paving. In five years, Waco has seen costs increase two-to-three-fold. Available funding has had a significant impact on schedules.
The Union Pacific Railroad reached out to 25News after the story aired and gave this statement,
Train horns are a safety tool used to protect the public and our employees and they are regulated by the federal government. For example, federal regulations require locomotive horns to be sounded for 15 to 20 seconds before entering a public grade crossing. Also, it is important to emphasis that trains also must sound the horn if they see any unsafe conduct near our tracks, such as pedestrians near or on the track. This requirement holds even if they are traveling through a Quiet Zone.
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