The Salt Lake City Council is poised to close sections of two roads to help create railroad quiet zones and accommodate the Grant Tower rail realignment project.

The Salt Lake City Transportation Division is proposing to close a portion of 700 South and South Temple, which it says will eliminate the need for trains to blow their horns in the respective areas.

The City Council was briefed on the proposed closures during a work session Tuesday and voted later that night to set public hearings for the two matters for Nov. 13.

If approved, 700 South would be closed immediately west of 600 West, keeping traffic off the section of the road that crosses the railroad tracks but has no signals or gates. The street currently dead ends when it hits I-15 at about 700 West. The closure would create a "T" intersection on the east side of the railroad tracks at 600 West.

The alternative would be to add gates and signals to the intersection, which city officials in 2004 estimated would cost $680,000 to install.

On South Temple, the city's transportation division is calling for the southern half of the street to be closed between about 750 West and 900 West. The closure will allow gates to be constructed on South Temple at the 800 West, 900 West and 1000 West intersections, meaning trains will not need to blow their horns at those crossings.

City officials say the closure is integral to the Grant Tower realignment project, which involves straightening the two 90-degree turns on the rail line in the area west of The Gateway. That will make it possible for Union Pacific to stop using the line along 900 South.

The Planning Commission has issued favorable recommendations for both closures.

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