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Culpeper to begin 'quiet' safety upgrade at East Street crossing on Monday Date published: 3/15/2010
BY DONNIE JOHNSTON Residents on Culpeper's East Street prefer bells and lights to train horns that blast in the night. So, in order to maintain the quiet and allow folks to get a good night's sleep, the last railroad crossing within the town is about to receive a safety upgrade. Construction is expected to begin today on U.S. Avenue in Culpeper to install railroad-crossing warning devices that will both ensure vehicle safety and keep train horns from sounding as they roll through the town. This is the only remaining crossing within the town that has only minimal safety equipment. In 2005, the Federal Railroad Administration implemented a new train horn rule that requires locomotives to blow their horns at all highway-rail grade crossings. However, the rule allowed for "quiet zones" or continuation of pre-existing quiet zones if the crossing met certain safety criteria. The town of Culpeper has had on the books since 1931 a "quiet zone" ordinance that prohibits train horns from sounding in residential neighborhoods near the tracks. After the 2005 rules went into effect, however, trains again began blasting their horns behind East Street homes and waking up residents in the middle of the night. It was then that the Town Council began exploring crossing upgrade possibilities. Mayor Pranas Rimeikis lives in the neighborhood. For years, town officials have worked to secure funding for the $230,000 project that would see new crossing gates and signals on U.S. Avenue, which serves as the only entrance to Culpeper National Cemetery and two businesses on the east side of the tracks. According to town spokesman Wally Bunker, the federal government will pay 90 percent of the cost, with the Virginia Department of Transportation picking up the rest. The safety upgrades will not cost town taxpayers a dime. Norfolk Southern crews hope to start the crossing upgrades, which will consist of flashing lights, bells and a two-gate system, on Monday. Weather permitting, the project should be finished by the end of April. The town's two other railroad crossings--on Chandler and Spencer streets--already have flashing lights, bells and two-gate systems. A fourth crossing at Wine and Fairfax streets, which was unmarked except for a sign, was closed more than a decade ago following a fatal accident involving a vehicle and a train. Because the U.S. Avenue crossing serves as Culpeper National Cemetery's entrance, visitors and funeral procession cross the tracks there almost on a daily basis. Donnie Johnston:
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
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