Route 31 to close in downtown Elgin for railroad crossing repairs

A portion of Route 31 near downtown Elgin will be closed starting Monday as a bumpy railroad crossing finally gets fixed.

The closure, starting at 7 a.m. Monday, affects only a two-tenths of a mile between Locust and Chicago streets.

Union Pacific Railroad will replace the railroad crossing just north of Locust Street, at the top of a hill where drivers for years have had to navigate rough, bumpy pavement, said city senior engineer Chris Tiedt. "The railroad crossing is in bad shape and definitely needed to be replaced."

Weather permitting, the road is expected to reopen at 7 a.m. Oct. 3, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation, which has jurisdiction over Route 31.

"There's a learning curve of course. It's probably going to take the first day for people to know where to go," Tiedt said. "At the city and IDOT, we've been trying to publicize it as much as possible, so hopefully the word is out there."

Drivers will need to use alternate routes and should allow for extra travel time through the area.

The posted detour will route northbound Route 31 traffic east on Route 20, north on Route 25 and west on Chicago Street to Center Street to Highland Avenue to reconnect with Route 31. Southbound Route 31 traffic will follow the opposite route, with the exception of first detouring on eastbound Chicago Street.

For more information, visit cityofelgin.org.