By Melanie Holmes
Highways change names, but they’re not usually dug up and moved. In the case of Illinois Rt. 50 in Bourbonnais, however, an almost one-mile section was re-routed 400 feet to the east – from the point that’s one-half mile north of St. George Road to McKnight Road (by Kohl’s). Why did this happen? First, a bit of history.
Route 50 used to run parallel, hugging the east side of the railroad tracks, from Manteno’s southern edge to McKnight Road. From McKnight, Route 50’s southward path veered easterly so that it shifted from a NE/SW road to a true north/south road through Bradley. Then came March 15, 1999, and the collision of an Amtrak train with a flatbed truck that was sitting on the tracks where McKnight Road crossed the tracks.
The truck was laden with steel from what was then Birmingham Steel. The train derailed, the sleeper car twisted and caught fire, and ultimately 11 people on the train were killed. Many more were injured. First responders came from near and far. Blain’s Farm & Fleet and a school provided staging areas and shelter for survivors and emergency workers. Care didn’t just flow from around the area, it gushed.
In order to give voice to the heroism of that tragedy and to honor those lost, the Village of Bourbonnais placed two granite and steel markers at the intersection of Routes 45 and 102 (near the Dairy Queen, across from ONU). The story of the wreck and rescue is told, and the names of the 11 who perished are inscribed (aged 8 to 76).
Crucial steps were taken to prevent this type of accident from ever happening again, and that’s where the answer to this trivia question is found. The railroad crossing at McKnight Road permanently was closed. Then, Route 50 was re-routed in a way so eastbound travelers on St. George Road (aka 5000N Road, aka Indian Oaks Road) who crossed the railroad tracks would never again find a mere hundred feet of pavement between the tracks and Route 50.
Today, the highway begins to curve easterly at a point one-half mile north of St. George Road. This re-route meant slicing into farm fields that lay immediately east of Route 50, and a home that used to feel fairly far from the busy highway was suddenly very close. To get an idea of where the road used to be, take the road behind Aldi – that road is about as close as you’ll get to driving where Route 50 used to be. And while you’re behind Aldi, take note of Town & Country Motors, which used to be Indian Oaks Gas Station (through the 1970s), that sat along “old Route 50/54.”
Train safety should never be taken lightly. Trying to beat a train and/or going around downed gates is not worth the risk to you and that of train engineers and passengers. The mantra, “Look. Listen. Live.” reminds us to slow down, respect life and time.
For more about the evolution of train policies in light of collisions with pedestrians/motorists, an entire chapter is devoted to this topic in the Manteno/Images of America book, which includes the three deaths in early 1963 that galvanized the town to petition the ICC for automatic crossing gates. Every single train town has its stories, and Manteno’s roots as a train town means it’s had more than its share. (RIP: Tom Holmes, killed on the tracks 4-22-1963, and Ethel Farris and Lois Jackson, mother/daughter, killed on the tracks 3-1-1963.)
Check back on the first Thursday of the month for a new nugget of trivia on Manteno and beyond. Melanie Holmes, who hails originally from Manteno, is author of four nonfiction books, with a fifth due from Reedy Publishing in May 2023. She can be reached at holmesauthor11@gmail.com.