Plan for Safer, Quieter Railroad Crossings on Track

Rockland County is moving a step closer to reducing some of the daily noise that comes with the steady stream of freight trains that rumble up and down the West Shore Line through Orangetown, Clarkstown, Haverstraw and Stony Point.

Inspectors representing the county, the state and CSX railroad today began examining 14 grade crossings as part of the detailed design phase for a $6 million project that calls for making those crossings safer. With the safety improvements, County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef said the engineers who operate the CSX trains will no longer be required to blast their warning horns every time they approach one of the Rockland grade crossings.

Inspection teams are out today and tomorrow checking specific conditions at rail crossings, such as the one on Lake Road in Congers. The county began the "Quiet Zone Project" in 2002 and construction is slated to take place in 2012 and 2013, Vanderhoef said.

The project calls for installing new crossing gates and releated equipment all along the West Shore Line in Rockland. In addition to protecting the crossings from automobile traffic, the project is also designed to keep pedestrians away from the tracks as trains approach. Without these changes, officials said federal rail regulations require train crews to blast their horns at every grade crossing - no matter what time it is day or night.

Vanderhoef said the sight of inspectors along the rail line today was a welcome one because it took the state Department of Transportation about 18 months to approve this phase of the project.

"Despite the delays, we are pleased to be able to get this project moving again," said Vanderhoef. "We realize that our project will likely create the first Quiet Zone in the State under the new Federal Railroad Administration rule, and all parties want to ensure the project sets the highest possible standard as a model. We cannot, however, allow this project to be subjected to any further delays. Over the past several months, we have expressed our concern to the state DOT's Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Section and have been assured that we now have their concurrence with our preliminary design for this project."

Compounding the delays created by the complexity of the rail project, Vanderhoef said, was a rush of construction projects the state DOT had to focus on as part of the federal economic stimulus program.

Clarkstown Supervisor Alexander Gromack said the project has been in the works so long that some local residents have expressed anxiety about whether the railroad crossings would actually be rebuilt.

"This really is a quality of life issue," said Gromack. "People are anxious for this project to get done already. I think people will be happy to see this project is finally getting on the right track."

In the Quiet Zone Project, Rockland County will pay CSX to revamp the grade crossings. The federal government in 2005 gave Rockland $3.6 million for the project, with the county required to match 20 percent of that amount. Vanderhoef said the county has included the rail work in its capital projects budget and the county is seeking additional state and federal funding to help cover its costs.

Rockland County Legislator Jay Hood of Haverstraw said the changes to the rail crossings should improve daily living conditions for thousands of Rocklanders who live near the West Shore Line. "Their houses litterally shake every time the trains go by," said Hood.

The project, however, will not stop the use of warning horns by freight trains on the West Shore Line, which is major rail link from the rail hub at Seacaucus, N.J., to another hub in Selkirk, N.Y, near Albany. State officials said railroad crews will still be required to use their warning horns when approaching other trains on rail sidings, such as in West Nyack.

Inspectors this week are set to focus on the specific operation of each rail crossing, including the timing of warning gates, signals, electronic controls and sensors as well as specific location issues. For example, inspectors out today in Orangeburg noted the usual conditions created by the placement of local roads at the Highview Avenue Crossing, which connects Route 303 near the Orangeburg Library and the Lowe's home improvement center to Western Highway.

The alignment of the CSX tracks at Highview Avenue creates a condition in which trucks and other large vehicles stopped at the intersection with Western Highway are in danger of being hit by trains because there isn't enough room between the tracks and the intersection. Preliminary designs for Highview Avenue call for changing the two-way road to a one-way road, eastbound toward the library and Route 303.

Representatives from the municipalities responsible for the roadway at each crossing are taking part in the planning process, along with staff from the county Highway and Planning Departments, the state Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration, CSX and the railroad's engineering consultants.

"Like the DOT, Rockland's first concern in this project is safety," Vanderhoef said. "Rockland County has followed the exact requirements of the FRA rule and our Planning and Highway Department staff have worked diligently with our town and village highway and DPW professionals, FRA and CSX Railroad to ensure that the most appropriate supplemental safety measures are put in place at these crossings before the Quiet Zone is established. We are now one step closer to making that happen."

Here are the crossings being examined today and tomorrow and the improvements planned:

Andre Avenue (Orangetown):  Four Quadrant Gates

Old Tappan Road (Orangetown):  Four Quadrant Gates

Greenbush Road (Orangetown):  One-way Street with Single Gate on East Side

Highview Ave. (Orangetown):  Convert to One-way Eastbound Street with Gates on the West Side

Glenshaw Street (Orangetown):  Four Quadrant Gates

Erie Street East (Orangetown):  Four Quadrant Gates, with Vehicle Presence Detection

Bradley Parkway (Orangetown):  Four Quadrant Gates

Pine View Road (Clarkstown):  Four Quadrant Gates

Kings Highway (Clarkstown):  Four Quadrant Gates

Gilchrest Road (Clarkstown):  Four Quadrant Gates

Lake Road East (Clarkstown):  Four Quadrant Gates

New Main Street (Village of Haverstraw):  Four Quadrant Gates, with Vehicle Presence Detection

Westside Avenue (Village of Haverstraw):  Four Quadrant Gates, with Vehicle Presence Detection

Railroad Avenue (West Haverstraw):  Four Quadrant Gates, with Vehicle Presence Detection

The Short Clove Road crossing in the Village of Haverstraw is not part of the project  because the state DOT is currently constructing a highway-rail grade separation project, with a new bridge allowing the grade crossing to be be eliminated.

The county's consultant for the project is Bergmann Associates of Rochester, along with XoRail of Jacksonville, Fla. (formerly Southwest Signal Engineering Co.); Shumaker Consulting, Engineering and Land Surveying PC of Binghamton; and R.K. Hite & Co. Inc. of Avon, N.Y.

The final scope of the project will also include six private crossings along the West Shore Line.

For further information on the Rockland County Railroad Crossing Safety and Quiet Zone Project, go to www.rocklandquietzone.com.