Crete Mayor Michael Einhorn downplayed potential problems associated with a proposed intermodal facility Wednesday, adding it's possible the development might never materialize.

But the longtime south suburban mayor said the proposed rail-to-truck operation, if built, would be significantly smaller than the two intermodal operations on Will County's west side, as well as quieter and cleaner than most other operations.

Einhorn, invited to speak by Trustee Michael Liccar, drew approximately 130 concerned residents to the Crete Township board's monthly meeting.

Many neighboring residents — all outside the village of Crete in unincorporated Crete Township — fear the rail-to-truck operation proposed for the village's semi-rural southernmost end would compromise surrounding quality of life, reduce property values and jeopardize student safety and health at Balmoral Elementary School on Crete-Monee Road.

Audience members included County Board members Judy Ogalla, R-Monee, and Lori Summers, D-Crete, village Trustee Mark Wiater and Crete-Monee School District's newest board member, Christian Anderson.

CSX Transportation's option on the 1,100-acre site along Illinois Route 1 between Crete-Monee and Goodenow roads came to light in December when the rail-transportation giant asked the Will County board to sponsor a request for a railroad-overpass grant related to the former CenterPoint Industries property.

Einhorn told his audience the CSX intermodal layout is “very, very similar” to the CenterPoint's 2007 proposal, with a couple of “drastic” differences.

One difference is CSX would use wide-span electric cranes to unload and load wheel-less containers, he said.

CSX contends those cranes require fewer diesel-powered hostler trucks, are quieter than diesel-powered cranes and generate power while lowering a load. The electric cranes' smaller “footprint” also allows intermodal operations to operate in a smaller area.

Einhorn said the Crete “ramp” — a slang word for an intermodal terminal — would encompass up to 100 acres, compared to 450 acres in Joliet and 500 acres in Elwood.

A second change, he said, is that “90 percent” of rail freight is now carried in the modular containers, allowing workers to simply set a container on the ground in the yard. A container isn't connected to a truck until it's ready to leave the facility, he said.

Einhorn also predicted the “mix of traffic” at a Crete facility would be different because the two western Will County intermodal operations, which draw freight from international ports on the west coast. A Crete operation would draw primarily from domestic East Coast ports, he said.

Einhorn said CSX transports approximately “10 percent international,” but acknowledged the ratio could increase as more international freight comes into the East Coast a result of the Panama Canal's expansion.

Einhorn added later that it was highly unlikely activity at the Crete operation would ever come close to the experience on Will County's west side.

“There is no other place in the United States, anywhere, that is as intense for intermodal as Elwood and Joliet,” he said.

Most of the truck traffic, Einhorn said, would “wind up on (Ill.) 394 and go north.” Referring to the two-lane east-west country thoroughfare that borders the south end of the site, he added, “Nothing's supposed to go down Goodenow.”

Village resident Karl Storch questioned lighting at the “24/7” facility.

Einhorn replied, “We've already told them, ‘Your light has to stay on-site.' That,” Einhorn added, “doesn't mean you won't see it.”

Einhorn was less specific answering one woman's question about creating noise-reducing berms around the perimeters, saying he had relayed residents' concerns to the company. CSX representatives would welcome their questions and comments during an upcoming public outreach, he said.

Pressed by the woman for action, Einhorn responded, “I can't force them to put a berm there. The project will not be thrown out because they won't put a 200-foot berm over there.”

Einhorn said the Crete intermodal facility, if constructed, would handle a completely different kind of freight than the kind of freight handled at a proposed airport between Monee and Peotone.

“There literally is no connection” between the two projects, he said.

Another woman in the audience said she and other residents near the intermodal site thought their quality of life would continue after CenterPoint ended its plans.

“Now here we are again, sitting ducks in a pond,” she said.

“You had 10 years to do something,” Einhorn responded, drawing angry hoots from some audience members.

Will County board member Lori Summers, who lives near the intermodal site, said her property value decreased by $30,000 after the CenterPoint project became public in 2007. Einhorn dismissed a connection with the intermodal, saying his property value also declined due to the economic downturn.

Einhorn said CSX Transportation's acquisition of an option to buy the Crete site is no guarantee it would proceed with development because company officials also are considering the alternative of revising, redesigning and remodeling the existing operation in Bedford Park, which sends trains through Crete.

Einhorn likened such an action at the “very busy” Bedford Park operation as “the equivalent of doing heart surgery on somebody doing a sprint,” but said the Crete venture “is just one of the many capital items they have.”

Dennis Sullivan is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.