Sally E. Bahner Photo
Amtrak site
Let the games begin.
Lest you think you are at the World Cup in South Africa, all the hooting, tooting and beep-beep-beeping heard all hours of the day and night is not from vuvuzelas, but from the $70.5 million Amtrak bridge project now underway on West Main Street near Short Beach Road.
The town waited 15 years for the federal project to begin. It happened when the project qualified for federal stimulus funds in February 2009. Last August, town officials learned that the bridge project would be undertaken at night.
The anticipated completion date is March 2014.
Branford First Selectman Anthony “Unk” DaRos said Amtrak’s work schedule is causing frustration. Amtrak restricts working hours from around midnight to 4 a.m., and the prep work on either side is time consuming. The bridge project is located in a heavily populated residential area.
The frustration over railroad noise comes just a couple of weeks after neighbors in New Haven complained about Amtrak night work near their houses. After the intervention of public officials, Amtrak agreed to work during the day.
“The train horns you hear at night are the warning horns from the train alerting personnel working along the tracks,” said Brian Gustafson, Department of Transportation project engineer. “This warning is mandated by Federal Railroad Authority (FRA) anytime a train is approaching and within a work area where workers are working on railroad property.”
“Unfortunately, our project construction operations are only allowed to be performed during the night time hours when there is less interference with train traffic,” said Gustafson. “Train traffic normally dies out around midnight, but starts picking up again around 4 a.m. and steadily increases for the a.m. commuter traffic.”
Gustafson said that since the electrification of the tracks it’s more difficult to hear the trains approaching. Hence, the whistle blowing is an essential safety feature, one that goes full blast when trains resume their travel on the tracks at 4 a.m. When the trains start their morning commuter schedules, the whistles and warnings are frequent and continue on an off through daylight hours. The first whistle blows as the train approaches the track, then again when it’s at the site, and then again just beyond the site.
According to DaRos, this summer will be the worst part of the project in terms of noise, “then it should drop off.” He said there have been a few complaints about the noise. “I don’t blame people for complaining,” he said.
Regarding complaints, Gustafson said he has heard “nothing directly.”
To complicate matters, Amtrak is also replacing railroad ties and rails along the tracks, a project unrelated to the bridge replacement. That project is running from Lowe’s in North Haven to the Branford train station, according to Gustafson.
Gustafson said the bridge replacement will be ongoing on railroad property for at least three years. He explained that if it had been tackled 10 or so years ago, it would have been less complicated. Because of the electrification of the tracks, the power must be turned off when the tracks are being worked on. A diesel engine has been put into service to help circumvent the electrical issue, he said.
According to Gustafson, construction presently under way involves preparation to temporarily relocate the train tracks; it will take about a year. That will be followed by the bridge construction, about one and a half years, then six months to a year to move the tracks back to their original location.
Sally E. Bahner
In addition, retaining walls are being constructed on each side of the tracks west of the bridge .
DaRos met with project engineers last week, to work out details about the appearance of the bridge. He asked that some texture be added to the concrete surface “to make it look better.” He said he is also working with the engineers to set up a phone number for the public to call to learn what is happening on the project on any given day.
DOT expects to set up a phone number to let the public know what is happening on a specific day. “It will be updated daily,” said Gustafson.
According to Gustafson, the contractors’ hours of operation are 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday night through Thursday night unless there is a problem during the week or problems caused by weather.
In addition to the bridge work, contractors have been preparing West Main Street from Alps Road west for widening. A right turn lane will be constructed at Alps and widening, milling, paving, and sidewalks will run from Alps up to Orchard Hill Road. Toward the end of the project, drainage pipes will be installed and some environmental remediation will take place.
The residential areas within proximity to the bridge include Main Street, Cherry Hill, Maple Street, Short Beach Road, and Alps Road, along with the streets off those roads.
Gustafson offered a wry bit of consolation. “Maybe after a while you won’t hear it anymore.”
###
I live in the area and figured thats why I hear so many train horns. It doesn't bother me, it's only if your outside or windows open. Plus I am a train enthusiast or "rail fan" lol.