After setting an establishment date for May 9, the initiation of the Quiet Zone at the railroad tracks intersecting with Wall Street was delayed briefly when Fort Scott officials learned part of the curbing was just short of new regulations.
Fort Scott City Manager Dave Martin said the curbing at a north corner of the intersection, where the Burlington Northern parking area is located, was about four feet short of those new regulations, which the city was not aware of initially. Martin added he was not comfortable signing off on the project until it lined up with those safety codes in place for the railroad employees.
“It’s not that big a deal,” Martin said, saying already the city is working with local contractors to complete the project. “I want to make sure it’s completely safe.”
Once the short stretch of curbing is complete, Martin said it would be up to Burlington Northern and the Federal Railroad Association whether the city has to wait another 21 days for official approval of the quiet zone.
With the new establishment date, trains traveling through that intersection will no longer blow their horns within a quarter mile in either direction of Wall Street.