OnTrac Receives $3.4 Million In Federal Funds For Quiet Zone Project; California Is Also Expected Okay $3.3 Million Other OnTrac Funds This Week --This is the first Quiet Zone project in the state and one of only a handful across the country," said OnTrac Chairperson Judy Dickinson.

A California RailRoad Project Of National Significance Has Been Put Back On The Financial Track.

(PRWEB) August 2, 2004 -- PLACENTIA, CA- Chairperson Judy Dickinson of Orange North-American Trade Rail Access Corridor (OnTrac) Joint Powers Authority (www.OnTrac-JPA.org) announced today (Monday, August 2, 2004) that $3.4 million in federal funds has received final approval by federal and state agencies for OnTrac.

OnTrac has been waiting since April 4, 2004 for this final funding release," said Dickinson. This is a very significant step that will allow us to get the final construction phase of the Rail Crossing Safety /Quiet Zone Project out to bid. This is welcome news for the thousands of residents who are looking forward to the train whistle ban to improve their quality of life."

Dickinson also praised the unusual cooperation this unique project has received from the many elected officials, regulating agencies, project partners and operating railroads; this is the first Quiet Zone project in the state and one of only a handful across the country. This is an exciting time and the funding announcement comes on the heels of our learning that $3.3 million in construction funds is slated for approval in Sacramento this week by the California Transportation Commission", she said.

OnTrac is directing the design and implementation of a very innovative project, using new technologies, aimed at improving the safety of the rail corridor and the existing eight at grade rail crossings in the Cities of Placentia, and Anaheim. Once these improvements are installed, the use of locomotive air whistles at the crossings will no longer be required, bringing much needed noise mitigation to the thousands of families who reside adjacent to the rail corridor as well as greatly enhanced safety for motorists and pedestrians.

OnTrac is working with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and Metrolink to design track safety improvements and rail crossing supplemental safety measures (SSMs) for all 8 crossings. The goal is to create an environment that facilitates the expanding transcontinental rail trade, while maintaining local safety and quality of life. OnTrac CEO Chris Becker said, the most difficult phases of this project are behind us now and we look forward to the upcoming groundbreaking ceremony and the improvement of rail crossing safety and restoration of quiet for our residents. This project will serve as a working demonstration lab for innovative rail crossing safety technologies that other communities will find useful", he said.

The supplemental safety measures being designed for the rail crossings include raised and extended length concrete traffic medians, three- and four-quadrant rail crossing gates, traffic pre-signals as well as all new crossing warning flashers and signage. A three-phase video data collection study is underway following FRA guidelines used recently on similar whistle ban projects.

During phase one, existing conditions are studied for four months; the video cameras are activated each time a train enters four specified crossings and all activities of motorists, pedestrians and the trains are monitored until the trains clear the crossing. During the second phase, the video will capture these activities following the installation of the supplemental safety measures, while train whistles are still in use. In the last phase, the video will record the crossing activity with the train whistles not used. The FRA, City and BNSF will review data reports compiled from the video taping to determine if sufficient improvement in driver behavior (fewer violations) is in place (due to the new safety measures), to warrant the implementation of the whistle ban.

This leg of the Alameda Corridor East (Orangethorpe Corridor project) will grade separate 15 arterial streets from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad mainline, through five miles of Northern Orange County. It will protect public interests and enable expansion (in the next ten years) from the current 70 to the projected 135 trains daily, to and from the Alameda Corridor, as well as accommodate the anticipated increases from Metrolink and Amtrak passenger services. The project is widely supported at the local, regional, state and federal level and offers many transportation, quality of life and economic benefits to the region. The project is an integral component of one of Californias key Global Gateways", linking the San Pedro Bay Ports and the transcontinental mainline railroad.

[Editors: For media interviews and digital photos please call George McQuade 818.340.5300 or 818.618.9229 visit www.MayoCommunications.com. For more about OnTrac visit: www.OnTrac-JPA.org