UPDATE: January 31, 1:05 p.m. According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page, the Union Pacific train that has been blocking the Woodland Shores subdivision has been separated. The crossing at Butler and Railroad Avenue in Nelson is open.

EARLIER: Residents in a subdivision west of Dixon have been cut off from the rest of the town due to a Union Pacific Railroad train blocking the roadways, and there’s no timetable for when the train will be moved.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office received a call on January 31 at about 1:50 a.m. that a train from Union Pacific Railroad was blocking the roadways for the entire subdivision of Woodland Shores. The caller reported that the train had already been stationary and blocking the roads for several hours. It was stationary because the crew from Union Pacific had reportedly timed out and were waiting for a relief crew.

“We’ve been in contact with the Federal Railroad Administration and Union Pacific,” says Sheriff Clayton Whelan. “Union Pacific said it would be at least two more hours to get a relief crew there as of 7:27 a.m.” The Sheriff’s Office has not received any emergency calls from the Woodland Shores subdivision, but Sheriff Whelan says a contingency plan has been developed in case an emergency call is received before the train has been moved.

The crossings at Railway Road and Wadsworth Way,, along with the crossing at Butler Street and Railroad Avenue in Nelson, are completely obstructed by train cars. The location shaded in green on the attached map is the affected area.