Railroad crossing gates in downtown Downers Grove failed on Thursday, June 11, for the third time in 20 days, blocking traffic along the BNSF corridor through the village's core.

The Downers Grove Police Department reported on the village's X account that gates were stuck in the down position in the downtown area on June 11, with BNSF crews responding to the scene. The gates were restored to normal operation later that same day, according to a follow-up post from the department. No injuries or crashes were reported.

The cause of the malfunction has not been disclosed.

Three failures in 20 days

The June 11 failure was the third gate malfunction in downtown Downers Grove since Friday, May 22. That incident was the most disruptive of the three, knocking out gates at four crossings simultaneously: Main Street, Forest Avenue, Washington Street, and Maple Avenue. The village urged drivers to avoid the area entirely and use Belmont Road as an alternate route.

Four days later, on Tuesday, May 26, the Forest Avenue crossing malfunctioned again. BNSF crews responded and restored normal operation the same day, the village confirmed on X.

No cause has been identified for any of the three incidents. BNSF has not publicly announced any maintenance plan or timeline for addressing the recurring failures along the downtown corridor.

What residents should know

Drivers who encounter a malfunctioning gate should not drive around lowered gates under any circumstances. Residents can report signal malfunctions or vehicles stalled on tracks by calling BNSF Railway's emergency line at 1-800-832-5452 (option 1 for emergencies, option 3 to report a train blocking a crossing).

The village posts real-time crossing alerts on its X account, @downersgrovevlg.