Geneva’s Third Street railroad crossing to reopen Oct. 4

The Third Street railroad crossing in Geneva is scheduled to reopen to traffic Friday, Oct. 4, while the Western Avenue crossing will close Oct. 7 for continued construction, Union Pacific officials announced in a news release.

The Third Street crossing has been shut down since mid-August for the rail company’s Third Main Line project, the release stated.

After the Third Street crossing reopens, crews will do some additional restoration work and sign installation.

The Western Avenue crossing is anticipated to be closed for five weeks, but all schedules are subject to change due to weather or construction delays.

With the Western Avenue railroad crossing closed, motorists should go west on Fabyan Parkway, north on Randall Road, east on Kaneville Road, south on Gary Lane and east on South Street, the release stated.

The directions will be reversed for drivers wanting to head south on Western Avenue. Motorists also can use Third Street or Route 31 to bypass the tracks.

Outside of the railroad crossing, Western Avenue will remain open to drivers on both sides of the train tracks along with all adjacent side streets and the Geneva Park District Sunset Community Center, 710 Western Ave.

Union Pacific began construction the Third Main Line project in 2022 on its UP/Metra West Line from Peck Road in Geneva to Kress Road in West Chicago.

The six-mile stretch of new rail will be set 20 feet south of the current tracks from Peck Road to Route 25. Heading east toward Kirk Road, the existing tracks will be shifted and the new line will be built on the north side.

Work on the project began in 2008 as a joint effort between Union Pacific and Metra because of overlap between the commuter line and the freight line, officials said. The final phase of the West Line segment is $102 million, funded by Union Pacific and Metra through Illinois Department of Transportation grants.

The project will also address safety concerns, such as pedestrian gate coverage to move pedestrians to the safest area to cross and another warning system to alert commuters that a second train is entering the station.

Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

The public can visit Notify Me on the city of Geneva’s website, https://www.geneva.il.us/list.aspx, to subscribe to future construction updates on the Pardon The Progress blog. More project information is available on the Third Main Line construction web page, https://www.geneva.il.us/905/Union-Pacific-Third-Main-Line-Project.

While the City of Geneva provides information from Union Pacific to the community, it has no authority or control over the project.