By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
The county sheriff and the road superintendent met with UDOT (Utah Department of Transportation) officials and were able to move a railroad crossing in Nephi from a rating of 350 in importance to number one. “I would like to thank Doug Anderson, Juab County Sheriff, and Lynn Ingram, county road department superintendent, for the work they did to get the railroad crossing active warning devices approved,” said Byron Woodland, county commissioner. “I also want to thank Lynn and Doug for their work in getting the railroad crossing approved for active warning devices,” said Clint Painter, commission chairman. David Stubbs, 27, from Mona, was killed after a train struck the dump truck he was driving across railroad tracks south of Nephi along Sheep Lane Drive south of Nephi and west of the Juab County Sheriff’s Office. The railroad tracks where Stubbs was killed do not have crossing arms or warning lights. The train, comprised of three locomotives and three empty cargo cars, was traveling north when it hit Stubbs, who was driving west, according to a press release issued by Anderson. Four people on board the train were uninjured. Stubbs was driving the truck for Taurus Plumbing & Excavating, a Nephi-based company, whose grounds are located near the accident scene. Woodland asked Ingram to report on what had happened in the meeting. “We met with UDOT over the railroad crossing and were told that there were 750 crossings in the state,” said Ingram. “We were rated 350 on the list.” UDOT has a fund of $1.8 million, he said. That fund must take care of all the crossings needing attention. Ingram and Anderson explained that the Sheep Lane crossing was heavily used because it led to the county landfill and to farms in the area. “We were ranked low,” said Ingram. After input from Nephi City, the county road department and the sheriff, he said, UDOT reconsidered the need for the Sheep Lane crossing. “They will fund the new crossing at 100 percent,” said Ingram. “In 14 months we will have lights.” At public highway-rail crossings there are two basic types of warnings: passive signs and active warning signs. A highway-railroad grade crossing is an intersection where a roadway crosses railroad tracks at the same level. The Utah Department of Transportation oversees all Public Highway-Rail Grade Crossings in the state of Utah. The Department’s goals are to improve the safety for all users of a crossing and provide for the efficient operation of trains and vehicle and pedestrian access through those crossings. According to Union Pacific information on “Types of Railroad Crossing Warnings,” when approaching a public highway-rail crossing, drivers see the round, yellow advance warning sign. These and pavement markings are generally installed by local or state agencies and are passive signs. Pavement markings are the same as the advance warning sign, but the letters are painted on the road surface and generally start at the advance warning sign and end with a stop bar near the crossing and are also considered passive. The passive and common crossbuck is the basic warning sign required at all public crossings. Crossbuck installation and maintenance is the railroad’s responsibility. Sometimes a crossing may also be marked with a stop sign or yield sign. Installation of flashing lights or flashing lights with gates at a crossing is determined by state authorities and those are called active warning devices. The state decides which crossings warrant active warnings. “Each state has a budget and uses its own formula to prioritize crossing improvements. The following criteria are generally included: Vehicle traffic count at the crossing, types of vehicles using the crossing, the number of daily trains each way and collision history at the crossing,” said the Union Pacific information./h4> | 