Anyone visiting or living in the South Hollywood section of Brookfield is going to have to plan for extra driving time on July 5 and July 6, when the Hollywood Avenue crossing over the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad tracks is closed for reconstruction.
The crossing will be closed between 8 a.m. on Wednesday, July 5 and 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 6, according to Village Manager Riccardo Ginex. BNSF officials notified the village of the plan to repair the rather bumpy crossing on Monday afternoon.
“The problem is the southern-most track,” Ginex said. “There’s some type of low spot there.”
The work will consist of taking out the old rubber between the rails, resurfacing the rail bed and installing a new rubber surface.
However, during the period of construction, South Hollywood will be virtually landlocked. Vehicular traffic, including any emergency vehicles, will be forced to use Waubansee Road as a means of both ingress and egress. And since, no left turns are allowed either out of or into Waubansee Road from First Avenue, motorists will have to plan ahead in order to approach the area from the right direction.
Ginex said that in addition to notifying residents of the area about the railroad crossing closure, he would also be notifying the villages of Lyons and Riverside, which will also have residents affected by the closure. Metra commuters using the Hollywood Avenue platform should not be affected by the crossing closure.
?”Bob Uphues
