BNSF Railway to close Eldamain Road crossing for repairs Aug. 22-27

The BNSF Railway will close the Eldamain Road rail crossing for repair work north of Route 34 starting Aug. 22.

Work is expected to last through Aug. 27, county Highway Engineer Fran Klaas told the Kendall County Board on Aug. 16.

Klaas said he received word from the railroad just a few days ago and would have preferred to see the crossing remain open during the work just as the school year gets underway.

There have been reports of vehicles with punctured and slashed tires from exposed bolts and spikes at the deteriorating crossing, Klaas told the board.

Two sets of parallel east-west railroad tracks cross Eldamain Road about a mile north of Route 34, just south of Faxon Road. The north-south Eldamain marks the municipal boundary between Yorkville and Plano.

The condition of the crossing is indeed in poor repair.

Sections of roadway between the tracks have completely disintegrated, exposing steel rebar.

Klaas said about 5,000 vehicles cross over the tracks each day.

Many local drivers clearly are aware of the crossing’s condition.

During a visit to the site, many vehicles were observed slowing down as they approached the railroad crossing, particularly large trucks and especially semis from Menards, which maintains a large distribution center a little farther up the road.

The deteriorated sections of the crossing produced an eardrum-rattling clanging sound when vehicles rumbled over the tracks at full speed.

Klaas said the work will involve complete reconstruction of the crossing by BNSF.

“They are going to throw a lot of resources at it,” Klaas said.