OnTrac Seeks Bids For Construction Phase Of The Quiet Zone Project

OnTrac seeks bids for the final construction phase of the Quiet Zone Project, the only one in California.

PLACENTIA, CA (PRWEB) September 15, 2004 -- Chairperson Judy Dickinson of Orange North-American Trade Rail Access Corridor (OnTrac) Joint Powers Authority (www.OnTrac-JPA.org) announced today (Wednesday, September 14, 2004) that OnTrac is seeking bids for the construction phase of the Quiet Zone Project.

Getting the final construction phase of the Rail Crossing Safety /Quiet Zone Project out to bid is welcome news for the thousands of residents who are looking forward to the train whistle ban to improve their quality of life," said Dickinson.

OnTrac invites sealed bids for the Quiet Zone Project and will receive such bids in the offices of the Purchasing Agent of the City of Placentia (401 E. Chapman Avenue, Placentia, CA) up to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 at which time they will be publicly opened.

Plans, specifications, and all contract documents may be obtained at the Placentia City Hall for a charge of $30 ($35 mailed).

The work consists of improvements at and within eight (eight) BNSF railroad grade crossings in the City of Anaheim, City of Placentia, and the County of Orange. There will be extensive coordination with the construction by BNSF of new grade crossing warning signals and control systems as well as four quadrant" gate systems.

Once these improvements are installed and subsequent Federal Railroad Administration studies are approved, 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.

Last month, Chairperson Dickinson announced that OnTrac had received the final approval of $3.4 million in federal funds by federal and state agencies for this project. Dickinson also praised the unusual cooperation and support 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," she said.

Additionally, Dickinson praised significant efforts of Congressmen Gary Miller (42nd Dist.), Ed Royce (40th Dist.), Senators Dick Ackerman (33rd Dist.), Bob Margett (29th Dist.) and Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher (72nd Dist.) in making the Quiet Zone project funds available.

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 eight crossings. The goal is to create an environment that facilitates the expanding transcontinental rail trade, while maintaining local safety and quality of life.

The most difficult phases of this project are behind us now," said OnTrac Executive Director Chris Becker. 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."

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 were studied for four months; the video cameras were activated each time a train entered four specified crossings and all activities of motorists, pedestrians and the trains were monitored until the trains cleared 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.

The OnTrac 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 visitwww.MayoCommunications.com. For more about OnTrac visit: www.OnTrac-JPA.org

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