Stop signs at the Arnold Street SE railroad crossing will be removed after they were deemed redundant.

The stop signs at the Arnold Street SE railroad crossing will soon be coming down.

After an on-site review of current features at the Arnold Street crossing by government and railroad officials, it was determined that there is a redundancy of traffic control devices, according to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 2009 edition.

Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs said the signs could come down as early as Friday.

During Monday night’s meeting of the Cullman City Council, the council approved an application for a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grant that would enable the city to install safety features — such as cross bars or additional signage — at the Arnold Street and 8th Street railroad crossings.

Jacobs said the grant application is part of an effort to create a quiet zone through the downtown area, which means trains would usually not have to blow their horns when going through those crossings.

Both of those crossings are close to schools, homes and the Festhalle and Warehouse District, so eliminating the need for trains to blow horns should help keep things quieter on that side of town, Jacobs said.

“I’m sure they would appreciate the horn not blowing as much,” he said. 

Although the quiet zone is an added benefit, the main reason for the grant application is to bring more safety features to the crossings to make sure residents are as safe as possible when they are crossing the railroad tracks, Jacobs said.

“The crossings will be much safer once we install those devices,” he said. “The whole thing is geared towards safety.”

Tyler Hanes can be reached at 256-734-2131 ext. 138.