Elmwood Park, county leaders lay out plans for railroad crossing
A public information meeting about a proposed railroad crossing project in Elmwood Park drew a modest crowd as representatives from the village and Cook County showcased options, led a discussion and answered questions.
Representatives from Elmwood Park, Cook County and the design team of the so-called Grand Gateway project were on hand at the open house format event May 24 at the village Parks and Recreation Center.
“The purpose today is for people to familiarize themselves with the project and see what’s in consideration,” Cook County Transportation Planner Cecilia Diaz said. “I think the number one thing that everyone is interested in finding out is how this project will affect their home. After that, they care about which option it will be.”
Six diagrams showing different possible alternatives for solving the Metra/ Canadian Pacific railroad intersection problem on Grand Avenue, especially from approximately 76th Court to 78th Avenue in the village, were displayed on easels. The ideas included: building a bridge to raise Grand Avenue over the railroad tracks, raising the railroad over the roadway, digging an underpass for either the railroad or the road to pass beneath the other or a combination of a bridge and underpass.
Officials say that each option would require eminent domain over homes, businesses or both, but would lead to redesigning a crossing that the National Transportation Safety Board has labeled “inherently dangerous.” Three sets of Metra and Canadian Pacific railroad tracks cross West Grand Avenue at a 10-degree angle, requiring vehicles to drive across 179 feet of rail, according to information provided.
The rail crossing was the site of a major accident where a Metra District-West Line train ran into six vehicles stopped on the tracks in November 2005. There were no fatalities, but 16 people were injured and an additional 12 vehicles were damaged.
The commuter rail line runs between Union Station in downtown Chicago and Elgin, with stops in Elmwood Park and Franklin Park.
“Everyone understands the safety concern, which I think is pretty obvious,” Elmwood Park Village Manager Paul Volpe said. “We don’t want any more people to get hurt in accidents at the crossing. Nobody wants to see a repeat of what happened in 2005.”
A Planning and Environmental Linkages Study currently underway, and approval could come early next year from the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration for preliminary engineering work.
In the meantime, public comments are being accepted through summer of 2023. About two dozen written comment sheets were submitted to project officials at the Tuesday public information meeting.
“I thought all the options looked very interesting,” Elmwood Park resident Mary Turilli said after leaving the session. “I agree that something has to be done. This is a project we’ve needed for decades.”
Elmwood Park resident Mayra Gallegos said she was sure she liked the proposals presented at the meeting.
“There’s one option where some elderly people could lose their houses. They give you options, but each one has its flaws.”
Volpe explained that one alternative requiring the relocation of several residents has been dismissed.
He said the design team will be evaluating and scoring each grade crossing option using criteria including, property displacements, right-of-way acquisitions, visual and noise impacts, community cohesion, impacts affecting roads and access, parking, transit accessibility to rail and bus and construction costs and duration.
“In general, the comments we’ve received today have been supportive of the project,” said project team member Scott Brejcha, of engineering company Knight E/A Inc. “Residents recognize the need for safety and better traffic flow on Grand Ave. without the backups.”
Joe Chiczewski, of ESI Consultants — another engineering partner on the project — said project officials don’t have a “favorite” proposal, at this point.
“It’s clear that something needs to be done,” he said. “We’re here to take input and modify accordingly.”
Volpe said the option for Grand Avenue to underpass beneath the existing railroad tracks has been scoring the highest.
“IDOT and the project team will do the scoring and decide which option ultimately will be used,” he said.
Diaz said a lot of planning work has taken place so far..
“The process is very important, and we want the public to realize that all the possibilities have been considered. You don’t want people saying they weren’t asked, so now they’re against it,” said Diaz.
Funding from the Illinois Commerce Commission, Cook County, IDOT and the Surface Transportation Program so far has covered the PEL study, preliminary engineering and an environmental study, and upcoming contract plan preparation.
Construction costs have yet to be fully funded.
“It’s a $122 million project, with $100 million needed for construction,” Volpe said. “Project readiness is our biggest current impediment toward getting the funding needed. We’re getting there, but we can’t avoid all the essential steps like the due diligence of public input and the Phase I and II engineering.”
Volpe said officials plan to apply for federal grants possibly available through the $1.5 billion Biden administration’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program. The RAISE funding is administered through the U.S. Dept. of Transportation.
Other funding is being sought from the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program, the Infrastructure For Rebuilding America program and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.
Volpe said he also is hoping to get $1.3 million in funding with help from U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley’s office and $3.1 million through U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth — who both represent the village.
“I’m confident that between the federal, state, county and local resources, we’ll be able to put all the funding together and build a great project,” he said. “It will come from a variety of sources and it will not affect local taxes. Right now, there’s a lot of funding in Washington for essential transportation projects, and this one checks all the boxes.”
Officials estimate that federal and state approval of preliminary engineering could come in early 2023. Final design and contract document preparation would likely take another 24 months after that.
According to Volpe, at least two full construction seasons will be required to substantially complete the grade crossing project, which could be by the end of 2027.