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Capital Improvements board allocates funds for rail "quiet zone" applications, road repairs and bollard replacement
Summary
At a July Capital Improvements Board meeting reported to the Hammond City Council, five funding allocations were announced including two applications for railroad quiet zones, a small roadway straightening project, change orders on Summer Street reconstruction and replacement of bollards at Martha and Kennedy.
Councilman Al Salinas reported that the city’s Capital Improvements Board approved five funding allocations that include applications for railroad quiet zones and small road and safety repairs.
The allocations reported were: funding allocation No. 259 — Willow at State roadway work awarded to Hawk Enterprises for $7,100; No. 260 — downtown railroad quiet-zone application to First Group Engineering for $70,000 covering crossings including Willow Court, State, Sibley, Seoul and Oakley; No. 261 — Summer Street Reconstruction change orders 5–7 with Reeth & Riley Construction Co., a city match of $14,171.16 tied to a 36-inch water main issue; No. 262 — Hessville-area quiet-zone application to First Group Engineering for $51,750 covering crossings including Kennedy and 169th–173rd and Grand Avenue; and No. 263 — bollard replacement at Martha and Kennedy awarded to Hawk Enterprises for $5,020.40.
Why it matters: the quiet-zone items in the report covered application and feasibility work, not the capital construction of gates and medians. A city staff member identified as Miller told the council that “the railroad companies, once you obtain permission from them, they do pass on all the costs to implement the quiet zones to the municipality.” Miller added that the city would need to find a funding source for construction and that no long-term funding has been identified.
Salinas told colleagues the Willow Court allocation “dealt with the straightening of Willow Court,” noting previous accidents at that intersection. He described the Summer Street allocation as the city’s 20% match tied to difficulties shutting off a water main during work.
Discussion points captured in the meeting record included the likely high per-intersection cost of implementing quiet zones — another council member cited earlier local examples in the half-million to three-quarter-million-per-intersection range — and the need for the municipality to identify long-term funding for gate installation and median construction. No formal council vote on construction funding was recorded during the meeting; the items were reported as actions taken by the Capital Improvements Board.
Next steps: staff and the council will need to identify funding sources before implementation of physical quiet-zone infrastructure, and further public notices or hearings would follow as projects move from feasibility/application to construction.
