The Rochelle Public Works Committee met yesterday as the discussion centered around quiet zones at railroad crossings in the Hub City.
There are a total of 11 crossings in Rochelle involving the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the Union Pacific Railroads along with 2 pedestrain crossings.
City officials are trying to reduce the train horn sound in the community. On the average, between 80 to 100 trains travel through Rochelle each day.
Committee Chairman Dennis Berg said that their goal would to have quiet zones at each crossing.
The quiet zone would have a permanent rubber or cement barricade in the middle of the road so people could not drive around the crossing gates when down.
The city is also considering wayside horns at the crossings. Each wayside horn could cost between 100,000 to 120,000 dollars.
The exact cost of the entire project has yet to be determined. It's expected to take between 18 months to 2 years to complete.
The city plans to have some public meetings in the future dealing with this issue. The council is also expected to talk about the quiet zones at the railroad crossings during their meeting on April 8th.
