Elburn to begin work on roadside train horns

ELBURN – Work could begin as soon as next week on a project to make the village a quieter place.

Perhaps as soon as Monday, contractors hired by the village will begin installing automated wayside horns at two railroad crossings in Elburn.

"This has been a long time coming," Elburn Village President David Anderson said. "Depending on weather, we should be able to get going on it."

Earlier this year, the Elburn Village Board approved a contract with Railroad Controls Limited of Texas, agreeing to pay $124,125 to the company to install the wayside horns at the intersections of the Union Pacific Railroad with Route 47 and First Street.

The village has budgeted a total of $300,00 for the project, as the amount paid to RCL will not include engineering and other associated costs.

Placed at intersections with rail crossings, the horns are designed to eliminate the need for locomotives to blow their horns when moving through an intersection. When a train approaches, the horns automatically blast a warning sound mimicking that of a train horn directly at the intersection, making the surrounding area much quieter.

Elburn officials, led by former Village President James Willey, have sought for years to install the horns as a way of reducing the noise generated by the dozens of trains that roll through the village daily.

Elburn Village Administrator Erin Willrett said the village is still waiting to obtain a permit from the Illinois Department of Transportation that would allow the work to begin. But she said the village does not anticipate the project being put off too much longer.

"It should begin next week," Willrett said. "Everything else is set to go."

Should the work begin as expected, the project should be completed later this year, Elburn officials said.

Anderson said the village does not anticipate the installation of the horns to impact traffic flow on Route 47 or elsewhere in the village.