Oswego hires firm to prepare downtown railroad quiet zone plans

The Oswego Village Board approved a proposal to hire an engineering firm to prepare plans for the establishment of a railroad quiet zone in the village’s downtown.

The board voted 4-0 to approve a resolution to hire the engineering firm of Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. at a cost of $29,300 during their April 5 meeting.

Trustees Pam Parr and Luis Perez were absent.

If a quiet zone is established, trains that now ride along the Illinois Railway track that extends through the village’s downtown would cease the routine sounding of their horns when approaching streets. Such quiet zones have been established in recent years in neighboring Montgomery and Aurora.

In a memo to the board, Jennifer Hughes, village public works director, noted the village initially hired Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd., in 2019 to conduct a preliminary assessment for the establishment of the quiet zone. Plans for the quiet zone, however, were temporarily halted “due to prioritization of the Washington Street traffic signals and other projects,” according to Hughes.

The trains that run on the Illinois Railway track transport silica sand from mines near Ottawa to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe yards in Aurora.

If approved, measures to meet requirements for a quiet zone may include signs, gates, bells, flashing lights and pavement markings, Hughes noted.

A map included in Hughes’ memo showed that the quiet zone would stretch from the 42.01 milepost near the Oswegoland Civic Center Aquatic Park just north of the village’s downtown to the 43.7 milepost near Benton Street south of Washington Street in the downtown.

Oswego will not be pursuing a quiet zone along the BNSF mainline that bisects the northern portion of the village near Orchard Road “as there are no crossings within the municipal limits,” Hughes noted. The closest crossings for the BNSF line are located in Yorkville and Montgomery.

The engineering study reportedly identified approximately $1.2 million in improvements deemed “necessary to install” before the Federal Railroad Administration would consider authorizing the quiet zone.

The agreement will allow engineers to advance prior work to coordinate with the Federal Railroad Administration, Illinois Commerce Commission, Illinois Department of Transportation, Kendall County, and private crossing owners.

“This is very important, especially with what we have across the river,” Trustee Brian Thomas said during the meeting. “I think to invest in something like this is very important.”

It’s not a “top priority” for the village, Thomas continued, given the other projects the village is working on, but “it is very important,” especially with the development of the $69 million The Reserve at Hudson Crossing located on the former Alexander Lumber yard site in the village’s downtown, adjacent to the railroad tracks.

Village Administrator Dan Di Santo said that residents in the downtown and nearby areas have been begging for a quiet zone for some time.

“This certainly brings us to the next step,” he said.