As you may know, the County provided $27,500 to the Village of Voorheesville to obtain an engineering design for four-quadrant gates at both crossings in the village. The installation of the gates is necessary for the quiet zone project to go forward. Preliminary estimates provided by CSX last year were that the total cost would be less than $200,000. The engineering design, which will be done by CSX, will develop specifications and final cost figures. The Committee for a Quiet Zone in Voorheesville would like to thank County Legislators Mackey and Reilly and Mayor Conway for their efforts in securing funding for the design.
Implementation of the quiet zone essentially involves 3 steps. First, the public authority with jurisdiction over the roads that cross the tracks, in this case the County, must issue a Notice of Intent (NOI) to establish a quiet zone. Second, the safety improvements, i.e. installation of four-quad gates, must be made. Third, a Notice of Establishment of the quiet zone must be issued.
The Village’s engineering firm Barton and Loguidice (B&L) is coordinating efforts to develop the engineering design. The Committee for a Quiet Zone in Voorheesville is working with B&L and agreed to prepare the NOI without charge in order to save funds that would otherwise have to be spent by the Village for that purpose.
CSX has stated that an NOI must be issued before work begins on the engineering design. A draft NOI has been prepared and we are waiting to hear from the Federal Railroad Administration what additional information, if any, is needed. Our hope is that the engineering design will confirm the initial cost figures. Even so, no source of funding has been identified for the actual construction of the four-quad gates. The more community support there is for the quiet zone, the more likely it will happen. You can show your support by coming to the Village Hall on July 22nd from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. County Executive McCoy will be there as part of his “listening tour” of the County. He needs to hear from us. Also, if you are on Facebook please go to to our page “Voorheesville Quiet Zone” and “like” the page.
See our latest fact sheet.