BNSF Railway - Willow Springs Intermodal Facility

About BNSF Railway - Willow Springs Intermodal Facility

Hodgkins sits between the Des Plaines and the canal, in country where freight never entirely stops: container stacks, trailer lanes and acres of pavement that have to be open no matter what fell overnight. Snow work at the Willow Springs Intermodal Facility happens at that scale, plowing wide lanes, clearing gates and entrances, and treating the walkways and turns where ice would slow the whole yard down. A place like this measures a storm in lane-miles rather than driveways. Winter light comes up gray over the stacks, and the first cleared lane looks like a runway laid down through the white. Getting the ground open again is the entire job.