Rail improvements to close streets in Cedar Park

Rail improvements to close streets in Cedar Park

By Joseph M. de Leon Tuesday, 09 June 2009

Capital Metro plans to close Block House Drive and Old Brushy Creek Road to allow work crews to maintain a section of nearby rail. The streets will close from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 13-14.

Capital Metro spokeswoman Erica McKewen said a train outfitted with an array of sensors, called a geometry car, rolled down the tracks earlier this year to check for problems. It determined the two crossings should be upgraded.

The construction at Brushy Creek Road will realign the tracks at the crossing, which currently prevents Capital Metro trains from reaching full speed. The misalignment means trains may safely reach speeds of only 30 miles per hour. After the repair, Capital Metro trains will be able to travel up to 50 miles per hour through the crossing.

“People driving in that area will not be able to see or feel any difference because we’re working on the track alignment, not the crossing,” McKewen said. “It’s important to get this done so we can meet the schedule that we set.”

The opposite is true for Block House Drive. The track is properly aligned, but the crossing is bumpy. The work crew will flatten out the intersection and refurbish the asphalt so drivers will have a smoother ride.

The upgrades come now that Capital Metro officials have built the Centralized Traffic Control, a system that tracks the real-time location of trains and operates signal gates, McKewen said. With that phase of construction done, Capital Metro officials have been thoroughly testing the rail system.

The commuter rail service between Leander and downtown Austin was originally planned to begin in March, but safety problems delayed the launch. A progress report expected May 15 came two days early, but there is still no set date for rail service to begin.

The transit agency has recently reached several goals on its path to rail service, according to a May press release. Capital Metro appointed a new safety director, resolved 23 of 26 violations cited by the Federal Railroad Administration while working on the remaining ones and received a waiver of operations letter from the administration, which will allow Capital Metro trains to operate.

The release cited several other safety measures the agency has finished putting in place, as well as remaining goals such as completing the final stages of engineer certification and the completion of traffic light preemption.