FORNEY, Texas — After nearly a decade of discussing a proposed railroad quiet zone, City of Forney crews have broke ground on the project in downtown Forney.
FORNEY, Texas — After nearly a decade of discussing a proposed railroad quiet zone, City of Forney crews have broke ground on the project in downtown Forney.
Construction on the project began on November 12, 2015, with city crews undertaking a portion of the project to lower the total project cost.
The quiet zone — an area in which trains cannot sound their warning horn unless of an emergency— will extended between South Bois D’ Arc Street and Farm-to-Market (FM) 548.
Each intersection in the proposed quiet zone will need to be constructed to quiet zone standards as set by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and below a Nationwide Significant Risk Threshold.
Currently the FM 548 intersection meets the required standards but the crossings at South Bois D’ Arc, Elm Street, North Center Street, and Chestnut Street will need to be reconstructed to meet the minimum requirements which will include the construction of medians at each crossing to separate opposing traffic.
On November 3, 2015, the Forney City Council approved a contract not to exceed $450,000 for PaveCon Public Works Lp to construct necessary safety improvements at the downtown railroad crossings. PaveCon Public Works Lp’s original contract bid totaled $504,207.10.
To reduce the total contract to the not-to-exceed amount of $450,000, city crews will extend drainage culverts, mill existing asphalt on Center Street, widen the flex-base sub-grade at the downtown crossings, and construct a pedestrian bridge on Elm Street.
The Forney City Council had originally budgeted $495,000 for the reconstruction efforts in their Fiscal Year 2016 budget.
The construction project is expected to take 60 days to complete, according to Public Works Director Chris Metz who said the crossings should be complete with final FRA and Union Pacific Railroad inspections and approval by March or April of 2016.
We started construction on the Quiet Zone today! Yay! pic.twitter.com/Z3i48jXbhC— City of Forney (@CityofForneyGov) November 12, 2015
