'Quieter Zone' coming to Niwot

Thursday, Sept. 3, saw some activity by Burlington Northern on the 2nd Avenue crossing in Niwot. While there is no firm completion date yet, Andrew Barth from Boulder County Transportation said that the county was told the goal was to complete the project in August 2020. While that goal was not met, Barth thought they were close to completion. The Federal Railway Administration will be called in to inspect the work completed, once the mechanical parts are in place. The crossing at 2nd Avenue and SH 119 will be protected by 4 crossing arms, as well as a new radar detection system that allows for “seeing” if anything is stuck between the gates, and/or on the tracks. Barth pointed out that it still will be at the discretion of the railroad engineer whether or not to blow the horn at Niwot’s crossing, so he suggested we call it a “quieter zone”, instead. A press release will be issued by Boulder County, once the work is complete.