Oklahoma’s first railroad quiet zone is under construction on Constitution Street.

A quiet zone is a crossing where trains are not allowed to sound their horns to decrease the noise level for residential areas.

“I would go absolutely nuts if I lived along the railroad tracks,” zoology professor Dave Durica said.

Durica said sometimes he can hear the train passing from I-35, and can definitely hear it from campus.

Federal law requires conductors to sound the horn 15,000 feet before a crossing, said Joe Faust, director of public affairs for the railroad company.

Train traffic has increased in Norman, said Shawn O’Leary, director of public works for the city of Norman..

“[The tracks are] carrying 38 trains a day, more than one train an hour. Five years ago it used to be about 20 trains a day,” O’Leary said.

The increasing number of trains has raised concerns for noise disturbance, O’Leary said.

But for others who live near the tracks, the train isn’t a bother.

Jimmy Johnson, biochemistry senior who lives at The Commons, said he didn’t know they were installing a quiet zone in Norman.

“I honestly didn’t know anything about it.” Johnson said.

Johnson said he has learned to tune-out the train.

O’Leary said the main concern for the Federal Railroad Administration and Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railroad Company, which owns the railroad tracks, is safety.

“As long as we meet their safety guidelines, the quiet zone will be installed,” O’Leary said.

Another question is whether or not the new medians could cause a problem for emergency vehicles.

“It will not affect our response,” said Jim Bailey, deputy fire chief for the city of Norman.

On Tuesday, the Norman City Council met with the railroad administration and the railroad company to inspect every crossing and see what needs to be installed to make the crossings quiet zones, O’Leary said.

To make the quiet zone, a raised median will be installed to prevent cars from crossing into the opposite lane.

These new medians will be eight inches tall, O’Leary said. The typical median is six inches.

The ability to install a quiet zone wasn’t available until four years ago. Besides the one in Norman, another is being built in Tulsa, O’Leary said.

He said the city has allocated $500,000 to build quiet zones in Norman.

The estimated cost for the median is about $26,500 and entire construction is $ 61,055, O’Leary said.

There are government grants that cities can obtain to update construction, but the money to study, build and maintain the quiet zones is coming from the city. But for the construction on Constitution Street there is a joint agreement between the developers and city to split the cost, O’Leary said.

According to the agreement, the developer will help build part of the street and the city will be responsible for the traffic signal and raised median.

The quiet zone was scheduled for completion August 31, but weather delays might push back the date. A plan for further construction is scheduled for next fall.