The projects would install gates at crossings on E Fowler Road, S Skare Road, E Hemstock Road, E Grist Mill Road and S Stone Hill Road. BNSF is identified as the railroad for all five projects, and the crossings are listed in Ogle County.

What is planned at each crossing

Gate installation is listed for all five Chana crossings. The E Fowler Road project also includes modifying the crossing’s flashing lights, adding a second type of warning-equipment work to that location.

Gates can provide a physical barrier in addition to a crossing’s warning signals. The planned improvements are part of a statewide program described by Illinois officials as supporting life-saving upgrades at highway-rail crossings. In Chana, the work would affect roads used by motorists, pedestrians and emergency responders, while also addressing safety where local roads meet BNSF tracks.

The five locations are spread across the community’s road network. Naming the crossings gives residents and people who use E Fowler Road, S Skare Road, E Hemstock Road, E Grist Mill Road and S Stone Hill Road specific places to watch for future project activity.

Estimated costs and timing

The plan lists an estimated total cost of $320,000 for each project. It also lists an estimated Grade Crossing Protection Fund, or GCPF, cost of $288,000 per crossing. Across all five listings, that represents estimated project totals of $1.6 million and estimated GCPF costs of $1.44 million.

Those figures are program estimates rather than final construction expenditures. The plan identifies FY 2026 as the fiscal-year timeframe for the projects, but it does not set construction dates, confirm completion, establish final costs or say whether every project remains on schedule.

The listings therefore mark planned work, not completed upgrades. Gates should not be assumed to be installed simply because the crossings appear in the plan. The project information also does not identify a local contractor or a traffic-closure schedule.

What the listing means for Chana

For people traveling through Chana, the most immediate development is the identification of five specific crossings for future gate improvements. The E Fowler Road project is additionally slated for flashing-light modification, while the other four listings call for gate installation.

Further project-delivery information will determine when residents, drivers and emergency responders see construction or changes at the crossings. Until that information is issued, FY 2026 remains the identified planning window for the proposed safety work.

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said the vehicle was dragged several hundred feet to the 400 block of Northeast Flagler Drive. The driver got out of the vehicle on her own and was taken to Broward Health Medical Center.

The woman’s husband told Local 10 that she suffered a broken hand and a busted lip.

Police investigation remains open

Fort Lauderdale police were still investigating what caused the collision, according to the latest reports from Local 10 and CBS Miami. The available accounts do not establish whether the crossing gates or warning signals were operating properly, why the vehicle was on the tracks, how fast the train was traveling or who may be at fault.

Those questions remain unresolved while investigators work to determine the circumstances leading up to the crash.

Sunrise Boulevard is part of an existing underpass study

The collision occurred at a crossing included in the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization’s TRAX feasibility study. The study is examining possible roadway-railroad underpasses at five Fort Lauderdale crossings, including the Sunrise Boulevard location.

According to the Broward MPO, TRAX is evaluating whether improvements could support mobility, accessibility, new connections between neighborhoods, infrastructure hardening and future growth. The study involves crossings along the Florida East Coast Railroad corridor and includes areas such as Historic Sistrunk, Progresso Village and Lauderdale Manors.

The study provides context for the location, but it is not evidence that Sunday’s crash caused or accelerated a particular project decision. The Broward MPO materials describe a feasibility review, not an approved, funded or scheduled construction project.

For Fort Lauderdale residents, the next significant updates will come from the police investigation and any future Broward MPO materials about the TRAX study. Those developments could clarify the crash and show whether any crossing improvements advance beyond the study stage.

Sources

• Local 10 collision report
• CBS Miami collision report
• Broward MPO TRAX feasibility study