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SALT LAKE CITY — As the Beehive State continues to grow, more people are commuting, whether by car, train or on foot, and more collisions at Utah's railroad crossings have been reported.
A new bill aims to increase safety at those crossings across the state.
HB63 would create the Office of Rail Safety. The office would inspect railroad operations and make sure they are keeping Utahns safe.
House Majority Leader Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, who sponsored the bill, said 16 people have died and another 33 have been injured over the last five years in more than 75 crashes at railroad crossings. Under HB63, Union Pacific would fund the Rail Safety Office.
"There would be 10 to 12 employees — inspectors that go all across the state to address the safety concerns," he said.
Schultz said reconstructing railroad crossings to make them safer has been increasingly difficult because of Union Pacific's lack of cooperation.
"We have some circumstances where we have a four-lane road, it necks down to two lanes to cross the railroad, and then widens back to four lanes because we can't get the approval from Union Pacific to widen that roadway," Schultz said.
It's not fair to place that burden on the taxpayer. Union Pacific needs to step up.
– House Majority Leader Mike Schultz, R-Hooper
If passed, Schultz hopes the bill creates a better working relationship between Union Pacific, local governments and the state of Utah so they can find solutions to improve safety on the railroads.
"When you have literally hundreds of projects across the state that are being held up because Union Pacific won't approve them or they are trying to force the local government to pay for the maintenance on that, where they otherwise haven't, it's not fair to place that burden on the taxpayer. Union Pacific needs to step up," Schultz said.
A committee recently sent the bill to the House floor.
