Approval of CN acquisition means negotiations are over

Although 10 communities struck deals with Canadian National for additional sound buffering and gate upgrades at rail crossings, past criticism of the process and a recent federal decision seemingly means Kane County might as well use its negotiating table for firewood.

CN officials confirmed Friday that no further deals will be made. The federal Surface Transportation Board approved the CN's $300 million acquisition of EJ&E on Wednesday, imposing unprecedented mitigation measures on CN. However, Kane County is not a direct recipient of those benefits. The sale isn't final until Jan. 23 and any legal challenges are resolved.

Leading up to the approval, Kane County Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Wyatt said the deals CN had reached with such communities as Hoffman Estates wouldn't really ease any of the county's problems.

"I guess you can either cure the symptom or cure the cause of the problem," Wyatt said. "The noise is really a symptom whereas grade separations truly address the root cause of what everybody is concerned about. The number one concern is the potential for long and potentially dangerous traffic delays."

That said, none of the EJ&E tracks are technically located within the boundaries of the county's jurisdiction. Because of that, Kane County Transportation Director Carl Schoedel said he wasn't surprised CN never contacted Kane County.

CN will be required to pay 67 percent of the cost of building an over or underpass at Ogden Avenue in Aurora and 79 percent of the cost at Lincoln Highway in Lynwood. That's far more than the 15 percent of the cost CN volunteered to cover, and beyond the 30 percent burden Wyatt said would be a starting point for negotiations with other grade separations in Kane County. The Aurora and Lynwood grade separations could easily cost $50 million or more.

Wyatt said without help from CN, Kane County residents shouldn't look to the county to build more under or overpasses anytime soon. There's not a single grade separation anywhere in the county's five-year plan.

With negotiations with CN now seemingly hopeless, Wyatt said an infusion of federal money may be the only hope. However, Vice President-elect Joseph Biden recently said no pet projects will receive money through any transportation or public works program President-elect Barack Obama creates to fuel the economy.

"I guess any project that's currently under development needs to be scrapped, then we won't have any pet projects," Wyatt said. "We'll have to get another name for it. The reality is there's not a lot of transportation projects that are just sitting there, ready to go. At some point they're going to have to get real and say come to the table. If they can come up with the money, we'll stand in line with everyone else. And I like our odds with all the work we've already done with projects like Stearns Road."