Orange County Transportation Authority
ORANGE –The first group of railroad crossing safety enhancements that will lead to quiet zones for cities along the tracks throughout Orange County are now complete.
OCTA highlighted work that has taken place today, at an event at the Palm Avenue rail crossing in Orange, and showcased how the new railroad crossing features operate.
“With planned service increases to Metrolink and freight traffic, OCTA has initiated the most comprehensive rail safety program in the nation,” said Will Kempton, chief executive officer of OCTA. “This is a significant milestone and we are excited to continue working with the cities to complete the remaining crossings.”
OCTA is partnering with eight cities to implement the $85 million program, which includes safety enhancements at 50 railroad crossings throughout Orange County.
Improvements include upgraded and updated warning devices, additional gate arms, extended and raised medians, improved signage and coordinated traffic signals.
Once the improvements are made, cities will be able to apply for quiet zone status.
By law, engineers must sound their horns up to four times when they approach a crossing. If a quiet zone is established, horns will only sound in emergency.
In Orange, nine railroad crossings have been enhanced and seven more are currently under construction.
“We are thrilled to see this important program move forward,” said OCTA Director Carolyn Cavecche, also the mayor of Orange. “Now that the first group of enhancements are in place in Orange, I look forward to working with the Federal Railroad Administration on establishing a quiet zone and bringing relief to our residents from the noise of train horns.”
Construction on all the crossings is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2011. To learn more about railroad safety improvements in your area, join the mailing list at www.octa.net/railroadcrossing.
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