Puallup council approves $1.5 million match to pursue federal grant for railroad quiet zone

Puallup’s City Council on June 16 authorized a local contribution to pursue a federal rail-safety grant that city engineers say will pay for major safety upgrades at six railroad crossings and help establish a quieter corridor through downtown.

“The diagnostic team identified safety and operational deficiencies at several crossings — Meridian and Third Street in particular — that have had serious collisions,” city engineer Hanser told the council, summarizing consultant findings and the diagnostic meeting with the Federal Railroad Administration and BNSF. Consultant Pablo Perah said the team narrowed a larger corridor to six priority crossings to make the grant proposal competitive and to focus work where collision history and infrastructure deficits are greatest.

Council members debated scope and cost before approving a resolution committing approximately $1.5 million in tier-three funds as the local match for a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant. The city must provide a 20% match under the program; Hanser said the updated estimate for the match and preliminary design is $1.511 million, which staff presented to council for authorization.

Deputy Mayor Johnson, a frequent rider of the commuter sounder and a longtime advocate for quiet-zone work, said the concentration of crossings in Puallup makes the improvements especially important for pedestrian safety and noise reduction. “We should treat this as part of a two-step approach: fund safety upgrades now, and pursue quiet-zone establishment once the diagnostic recommendations are implemented,” Johnson said.

The proposal excludes two western crossings outside city control (a Pierce County crossing and a private crossing east of it), which the team said would complicate implementation and offer limited benefit for grant competitiveness. Hanser and Perah said the grant application, if awarded, would fund final design and construction of targeted safety improvements; a separate quiet-zone establishment process would follow once improvements are in place.

City staff told council the grant application deadline was imminent; staff will finalize and submit the application with the council’s authorization. Award notifications are expected in late fall, with design work and negotiations to follow in the next year if the grant is successful.

What happens next: if awarded, the city will negotiate construction and crossing improvements with BNSF, FRA and other stakeholders, then implement changes required for a quiet zone and issue a notice of establishment.