City expecting permits soon for quiet zone work

Permits to perform railroad quiet zone work on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe right of way in Fairfield are expected soon according to Jerry Long of French Reneker Associates.

?Drish Construction should be able to start the quiet zone work within a week after getting the permit,? said Long.

Long said Trevor Brown of Drish Construction estimated the work schedule at seven weeks, which should enable the contractor to meet the Aug. 31 completion date.

The City of Fairfield submitted its application for the permit on Feb. 17.

?Councilman [Michael] Halley stepped in last week and contacted both BNSF (on behalf of the contractor) and Jones Lang LaSalle (on behalf of the city) to try and move the permits along,? wrote Long in his projects report given to the city council Monday. ?I believe he accomplished more with one call than we have since we first submitted the application in February.?

Drish Construction?s low bid for the implementation of the supplemental safety measures required for the quiet zone came in 14 percent above the engineer?s estimate. The city council awarded a $228,811.75 contract in late March.

?The council decided to have the city perform some of the work with city crews to bring the budget in line,? wrote Long in the report. ?The city crews will be furnishing and installing the supplementary signing at each of the seven crossings.?

Engineering and construction for the quiet zone project will be more than $261,000. The citizens action committee was responsible for raising about $185,000 of the total.

?Drish is anxious to start on the project,? said Long Monday.