Metra to close Kilbourne Avenue crossing for about 10 days in May for $450,000 rehab

Metra will close the railroad crossing at Kilbourne Avenue and Southwest Highway beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 14, to perform a roughly 10‑day rehabilitation that will remove existing panels and install concrete crossing panels, new rail, signal cable and improved drainage, Metra representative Dimitri Scofas told the Village of Oak Lawn trustees on April 22.

The work is intended to address panels Metra describes as “at their end of their useful life” and to reduce trip hazards for pedestrians and vehicle strikes that have worn the current high‑rail rubber panels, Scofas said. He described the project as a $450,000 investment and said crews will saw cut the asphalt, remove ties and ballast where needed, install new stone and concrete panels, and replace the short section of rail that crosses the roadway.

Why it matters: the crossing sits near Christ Medical Center and is on a route used by ambulances, Metra said, so the agency and village staff are coordinating with local emergency responders and the village’s police dispatch to limit impacts during the closure. Metra said they will post detour signs two weeks in advance and that their traffic control contractor, Barricade Lights, will install the detour signage the morning the crossing closes.

Metra emphasized that the work is typically scheduled for 10 days but is weather‑dependent and sometimes finishes in nine days. “They sometimes and often wrap up in about 9. So, hopefully, we would be out on Thursday rather than Friday,” Scofas said. He also said trains will continue to operate and that on‑site crews will use a Federal Railroad Administration‑required safety officer or flagman to clear work crews whenever a train approaches.

On detours and traffic: Metra showed a detour plan that routes traffic to Cicero Avenue and Southwest Highway; trustees raised concerns about congestion at the 90th Street–Cicero intersection, noting that ambulances and school buses frequently use that route. Scofas said Barricade Lights and the contractor will coordinate appropriate detour routes and work with roadway authorities to avoid sending detours through dense residential streets.

Metra said the concrete panels are more expensive initially but more durable and lower maintenance than the rubber panels; the agency referenced three earlier Oak Lawn crossings that received similar work in recent years, including Central Avenue in 2024. Project contact names have been shared with village management for on‑site coordination and emergency contact.

Trustees did not take formal action during the presentation; the briefing concluded after trustees asked questions about traffic impacts, ambulance routing and how long service interruptions might last. Metra representatives thanked village staff for coordination and said they will issue a press release and social‑media notices in coordination with village staff.

Sources and attribution: statements in this article are attributed to Dimitri Scofas, Community and Government Relations, Metra; trustees’ questions and references to the village’s emergency contacts are recorded in the April 22 meeting transcript.