At some point, maybe in late December or early January, the horns won't blow at midnight. Or 2 a.m. Or 4 a.m.
Construction of new barrier medians on Harlem Avenue and Cermak Road, where those roads intersect with the Canadian National Railroad tracks could begin as early as next week. When they are finished, say local officials, a new railroad quiet zone will be established within a month.
On Nov. 16, the North Riverside village board approved a construction contract with Franklin Park-based Kovilic Construction Company to build the new medians. The 6-inch high barriers will be located on Harlem Avenue just south of 26th Street and on Cermak Road just east of First Avenue.
The construction cost of $97,254 will be split equally between North Riverside, Riverside and Berwyn. In 2005, the three towns joined forces to try and convince the railroad to create a quiet zone along the CN tracks from Broadview to Berwyn.
Final costs are also far lower than the engineer's estimate of $182,916. North Riverside received four bids for the work; Kovilic's bid was the lowest. The second lowest bid, according to North Riverside Village Administrator Guy Belmonte was $126,683.
Work will begin as soon as Kovilic receives permits from the railroad. The company already has approvals needed from the Illinois Department of Transportation, Belmonte said.
According to Wayne Gardner, project manager for Kovilic Construction, the company expected to receive right-of-way approval from the Canadian National this week.
"If we get that, on the following week we'd start work," Gardner said.
The work is routine, Gardner said and should take about a week in each location, depending on the weather. While there may be some lane closures while concrete is being poured, Gardner said that the company would keep such closures to a minimum.
Once the work is complete, North Riverside will send a notice to the Federal Railroad Administration and the quiet zone will become a reality 21 days later, according to Belmonte.
"At the end of 21 days the whistle blowing from Harlem Avenue to First Avenue should stop," Belmonte said.
It's taken years to get the Canadian National Railroad to cooperate on establishing a quiet zone along the line. Even before the three towns linked up to find a workable solution, North Riverside had attempted to get the railroad to tone down the horn blowing, especially in the wee hours of the morning.
When Berwyn, Riverside and North Riverside proposed funding the construction of the barrier medians to pave the way for a quiet zone in 2005, the Federal Railway Administration in 2007 ruled that new grade-crossing switching equipment was also needed before a quiet zone could be considered.
But the CN in 2007 said it wouldn't pay for the new equipment and the quiet zone was put on hold. In 2008, however, in the midst of a public relations crisis regarding the CN's impending purchase of a suburban rail line, the railroad received some much needed support from North Riverside, Riverside and Brookfield.
Local leaders formed a lobbying group to support the railroad's purchase, which also received the support of U.S. Congressman Dan Lipinski.
After the railroad deal was consummated, Lipinski and local leaders were joined by CN officials at a press conference in March 2009 to announce an agreement on the quiet zone. The towns would pay for the medians, but the railroad would pay for the switching equipment.
At the time, then-Mayor Richard Scheck, of North Riverside, promised a November completion date. While that won't happen, it looks as if the quiet zone may be in place by the end of 2009.
