Bryan city council continues to wait for Union Pacific action to proceed with a downtown quiet zone

This podcast contains comments from the March 10, 2026 Bryan city council workshop meeting and  an interview during WTAW's The Infomaniacs program on March 11, 2026.The Bryan city council's interest in Union Pacific railroad not sounding train horns in the downtown area dates back to 2007. Almost 20 years later, the current council is still waiting for the railroad to approve a quiet zone.The council's latest action took place at the March 10th workshop meeting where staff was directed to do three things requested by the railroad.One is to close the railroad crossing to vehicular traffic at 22nd Street, the second was to permanently close the crossing at 15th Street, and the third is install fencing along both sides of the track between 29th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.The council was told that the railroad will allow the city to keep a pedestrian crossing at the tracks by Clara B. Mounce library, which provides access to the downtown parking garage.City documents show the council's first agreement with the railroad was signed in March 2018. After the council was told that the earliest the railroad will finish the project is 2029, mayor Bobby Gutierrez said "government time is already crazy, business time is already crazy, but railroad time is absurd."Mayor pro-tem James Edge said the next day on WTAW's The Infomaniacs, having dealt with Union Pacific in the past before he joined the council, said UP is "notoriously slow in making decisions (and) notoriously slow in following through with the decisions they made."So far, the city has spent $1.3 three million dollars on the project.The cost of closing crossings at 15th and 22nd Streets is estimated at $200,000 dollars. That's compared to the $3 million dollar cost to keep those crossings open.The council was also told a permanent closing of the crossing at 15th Street will allow the city to remove a median at 15th and Tabor that has been problematic for motorists in that area.The council is waiting for an answer from Union Pacific on a city request to substitute spending $2.5 million for new crossing gates at Groesbeck Street by installing warning horns at a cost of $300,000.The council is also waiting for Union Pacific's decision regarding crossings on North Sims, West 29th Street, West 28th & Bryan Avenue, Reed Avenue, West 27th Street, Parker Street, Saunders Street, and Graham Drive.Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the March 10, 2025 Bryan city council workshop meeting.