Railroad Quiet Zone in Effingham Likely to be Modified

The railroad quiet zone sought for Effingham will likely be modified from what was originally being pursued.

City Director of Public Works Jeremy Heuerman said the goal was for the entire stretch of the CN Railroad, north and south through town, to be a quiet zone, in other words, the trains wouldn't have to sound their horns. The goal was to install lights and gates at each crossing to eliminate the need for the horns. 

Heuerman said, though, that Amtrak installed a pedestrian crossing at the train station that is not quiet zone compliant. He said a grant is being sought to address that concern, but it could be a long while before the grant is received.

In the meantime, Heuerman said they are working toward making the CN crossings from Rickelman south to Jefferson a quiet zone. He said the crossings are already lighted and gated, and the same delineators in place on Rickelman at the crossing would be installed at the other crossings to prevent motorists from going around the gates to try to beat a train. That would allow the engineers to not sound their horns. We will keep you up-to-date on progress on the project.

In the meantime, the City continues work to make the CSX tracks east and west through town a quiet zone, as well.