The Grand Gateway project to revamp Elmwood Park’s dangerous Grand Avenue rail crossing is progressing, with studies underway to answer many of the questions residents have about the project.
It will likely create a grade separation, such as an underpass or overpass, at the railroad crossing to mitigate what officials have called its inherent dangers. The project is estimated to cost $100 million, according to village officials.
Whether the crossing will be an underpass, overpass, or some combination of the two has yet to be determined, said Scott Brejcha of Knight Engineering, senior project manager, during a public information meeting at the end of April. The meeting was held via Zoom and is available on the village’s Youtube channel.
All options for the grade separation are on the table, he said, and dependent on what studies say is the best option for the intersection.
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Other issues that will become more clear over the next year are what kind of impact the project will have on nearby properties, including potential displacements, impacts to business, and potential effects on access. “Those impacts have not yet been defined,” Brejcha said. “But they will be forthcoming in approximately the next year or so.”
This year, village officials announced that Elmwood Park would receive $24 million for the project from the Illinois Commerce Commission.
During his presentation, Brejcha said the train tracks cross Grand Avenue at a 10-degree angle, creating a rail crossing that stretches out for 366 feet. The intersection requires vehicles to cross 179 feet of rail, or about nine car lengths, measured from the outer rails along a vehicle’s path of travel, to get from one side of the crossing to the other. Following a 2005 crash in which a Metra train struck six vehicles, federal transportation officials labeled the crossing as “inherently dangerous.”
Chris Leow of ESI Consultants, the engineering design manager on the project, said that between 2014 and 2018, there were 36 vehicle crashes at this Grand Avenue railroad crossing, far more than other Grand Avenue intersections in the area. The study also looked at the six Grand Avenue intersections from 75th Court to 79th Avenue during the same timeframe. Five had fewer than 10 crashes, and one had 16.
Leow noted that the most recent fatality at the Grand Avenue rail crossing involved a pedestrian and occurred on Aug. 22, 2020.
Aside from safety issues, the intersection is notorious for creating traffic delays. Trains can sometimes sit on the tracks because of backups at the Franklin Park rail yard.
Mandi Johnson, Senior Project Manager with Metro Strategies, outlined what residents could expect next in terms of the project, including public outreach and feedback. The project website is grandgatewayep.com.
“Our goal through outreach is to provide stakeholders with the information required to effectively participate in the study process,” she said. “The purpose is to build community consensus.”
Johnson said another public information meeting is tentatively planned for fall of this year. At that meeting, village residents will hear recommended project alternatives and have the chance to voice their opinion.
A public hearing is tentatively planned for spring 2022. A project overview will be presented, with residents having the opportunity to provide comments.
Construction would not be expected to begin until early 2026.