SCENE OF TRAIN ACCIDENT COULD BECOME “QUIET ZONE”
A railroad crossing, which was the site of an accident earlier this month, could become a railroad “quiet zone”.
March 1st, a pickup collided with the railroad crossing arms on FM-109. The collision destroyed the signal mechanism.
Burlington-Northern-Santa Fe Railroad rebuilt the crossing’s signals, which could lead to the city of Brenham designating that area as a “quiet zone” in which trains won’t sound their horns unless there’s an emergency.
In 2011, the city of Brenham and Washington County were able to get “quiet zone” designations at 11 railroad crossings inside the city limits and four in the county. However, the FM 109 crossing wasn’t considered because of the type of warning system in place there.
Public works director Dane Rau tells the Brenham Banner Press that the new device is much more advanced and making the 109 crossing a “quiet zone” would now be much easier and much less expensive.
Rau said the entire process could take six to eight months and would require involvement of the Texas Department of Transportation.
FM 109 is a state roadway, and the arm west of the crossing is in the county, not the city limits.