71st Street rail crossing renovation to close Stony Island Avenue

A week of lane closures will start Thursday on Stony Island Avenue for railroad crossing work in the South Side South Shore neighborhood.

From midnight June 22 to morning rush hour on June 29, Stony Island will be closed at the intersection with the Metra Electric South Chicago Branch Line at 71st Street, according to a statement from Metra.

Crews will replace all components of the railroad crossing, Metra said.

Southbound traffic will be detoured west on Midway Plaisance, south on Cottage Grove, southeast on South Chicago Avenue and back south on Stony Island, according to Metra. Northbound traffic will follow the same detour in reverse.

Customers on the South Chicago Branch could see delays of up to 10 minutes, Metra said.

The replacement of such a large crossing usually takes two weeks, but the schedule has been accelerated to minimize the impact on traffic, Metra said.

The project is estimated to cost $1 million to $1.2 million and will be the first renovation of the crossing in about 20 years