Lockport Street at the Train Crossing to Close for Five Days Starting Monday

If you thought construction at Route 59 and Lockport Street made driving through town difficult, things are about to tougher – if you use Lockport Street to cut across the village.

For five days – from 7 a.m. Monday to 5 p.m. Friday – the street will be closed at the Canadian National Railway track crossing, near the DuPage River and the old train depot.

That means that if you’re en route to , the C.W. Avery YMCA or and would ordinarily take westbound Lockport Street, start planning your detour now.

Randy Jenssen, village superintendent of public works, said there will be a sign at Route 59 and Lockport Street warning drivers of the closure as well as a posted detour directing traffic to an alternate route that will take vehicles from 143rd Street to Van Dyke Road and then over to Lockport/Route 126, beyond the closing. A detour from the opposite direction will use the same route.

In his eight years with the village, Jessen said this is the first time Lockport Street will be completely closed for any length of time.

“The first day is going to be the most challenging when you get people who didn’t see the signs or the notices,” he said. “I told the guys at CN that they need to be prepared for angry phone calls.”

The closure will allow Canadian National to rebuild the entire crossing, which Jessen said has been described as “failing.” That involves removing the tracks and track beds and laying in new ballast, a new rubber base and wood planks, and new rails, he said.

They will also build a new 4-foot asphalt apron on each side of the tracks that should make for a much smoother ride when crossing the tracks on Lockport Street, he said.

This is a maintenance job rather than something being done in anticipation of future increased train traffic, Jessen said. Two or three trains use the spur line daily, most moving coal shipments to the Goose Lake area. That number is not expected to increase, he said.