Last week Norfolk & Southern announced they have moved up the scheduled rail crossing work necessary to complete the new Macedonia quiet zone! The railroad will begin their portion of the work at the Twinsburg Rd. crossing on Monday October 18th. Weather permitting, they should complete all circuitry upgrades and gate replacement work within 3 weeks.
On October 8th the first phase of the project was completed, installation of a 100′ median divider on the west side of the Twinsburg Rd crossing. The contractor for Macedonia plans to complete installation of the median dividers on the east side of the crossing by the end of the month. If things go as planned, the quiet zone should be completed by early 2011, something to celebrate as we ring in the new year.
For an indepth look at the milestones of the project and our projected completion date, please refer to www.http://www.macquietzone.com/timeline.html As work progresses, we’ll post additional updates and information on www.macquietzone.com
On October 8th the first phase of the project was completed, installation of a 100′ median divider on the west side of the Twinsburg Rd crossing. The contractor for Macedonia plans to complete installation of the median dividers on the east side of the crossing by the end of the month. If things go as planned, the quiet zone should be completed by early 2011, something to celebrate as we ring in the new year.
For an indepth look at the milestones of the project and our projected completion date, please refer to www.http://www.macquietzone.com/timeline.html As work progresses, we’ll post additional updates and information on www.macquietzone.com
Charmaine,
Hello, in answer to your questions; the crossing is now equipped with a failsafe warning system. In the event of a system power failure, a light will go on to notify trains of the power outage and engineers will again be required to blow their horns as they approach the crossing. Also, the gates will close using the backup power system.
1 - The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has precise guidelines governing the installation of median dividers used in quiet zones. The product used for this purpose along with its reflectors has been approved by the FRA. Being distracted by the median dividers should make most motorists more cautious when going through the crossing.
2- The median dividers are 43″ tall. Vehicles that are low enough to the ground where the driver cannot see over the dividers, will want to proceed with more caution. The crossing is now equipped with advanced circuitry that provides constant warning time for the crossing. According to the FRA risk index, today the crossing is 2.5 times safer than before the work was completed for the quiet zone.
Sorry for the delayed response, I had to get some input from a representative from Norfolk & Southern. Thanks Charmaine.
Greg McNeil
Chairman Quiet Zone Committee