Drish Construction ready to start quiet zone work

Railroad quiet zone work on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe right of way in Fairfield will soon be under way and train horns could be silenced by early fall.

Councilman Michael Halley told the Fairfield City Council last night that Drish Construction has obtained permits necessary to begin work on the railroad street crossings.

Halley estimated the work schedule at seven weeks and added the Federal Railroad Administration requires a 21-day ?notice of establishment? comment period after construction is completed.

Work will begin after a pre-construction meeting Monday with city officials, Drish and French Reneker Associates.

?Construction should start soon after the meeting,? said Halley. ?Drish is anxious to start.?

The order of the railroad crossings to be worked on will be determined at the meeting.

After the seven-weeks of construction on the safety measures required for quiet zone status and the three-week comment period, Halley thought it might be late September before the FRA designation would become official.

At that point, trains would no longer be required to blow horns on the way through Fairfield.

?Right now trains sound horns four times at every crossing,? said Halley. ?With the quiet zone designation, they are allowed to use them only when an obstruction is seen on the tracks.?

Halley added Burlington began its quiet zone status in December 2009 and residents were startled three months later when a train horn was blown for the first time.

In other council news, councilman Daryn Hamilton reported 36 residents were listed to have interest in taking advantage of the new opt-out amendment for radio-read water meters. He said only about half of those people had filled out the necessary paperwork as of Monday.

The city has actually completed the change from a radio-read meter to a touch-pad meter in four residences.