Raymond Park Neighborhood Quiet Zone Project Starts Monday

ST. CLOUD -- Residents of a northeast St. Cloud neighborhood are finally getting their railroad crossing quiet zone.

Efforts to create a train whistle-free crossing at 4 1/2 Street Northeast have been in the works for years. The city council approved the plan a year ago, but the project was held up while waiting for a variance from BNSF Railroad.

Construction on the quiet zone in the Raymond Park neighborhood gets underway Monday with the street closure. Weather permitting, the crossing should re-open by Friday, June 10th.

Residents have complained the train whistles are too loud and have become more frequent in recent years.

With the completion of the project, it will mean 3-out-of-4 St. Cloud crossings are quiet zones. City Engineer Steve Foss says they hope to make the St. Germain Street crossing a quiet zone in 2017. The other quiet zones are at 15th Street Southeast and 7th Street Southeast.

A Quiet Zone means the train horns aren't blown on a regular basis at that intersection. But, the engineer still has the ability to sound the horn, if he sees a threat or a danger on the tracks.