While the highly anticipated Elmwood Park train underpass project will need a few years to take shape, it received a boost this week with the release of $3.1 million in federal funding.
Village officials said the money will be applied to ongoing engineering costs for the grade separation project that will lower West Grand Avenue to pass underneath severely-angled downtown railroad tracks which have been called “inherently dangerous.”
More Top Picks Best Magnifying Mirrors For Seniors
The money is part of “Community Project Funding” in the Transportation Appropriations bill that President Joe Biden signed into law on March 15.
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth was responsible in part for the Elmwood Park project funds being included in the package.
“I’m pleased I was able to secure funding for important projects that will help clean up our water, improve our state’s infrastructure, expand healthcare access, create jobs and tackle environmental injustice issues facing communities across Illinois,” Duckworth said in a statement. “I’m proud to see communities like Elmwood Park benefitting from this critical support, and I’ll keep working to ensure our Illinois communities have the resources they need to thrive.”
The $121 million project likely will not be fully completed until 2027, officials said. Previous estimates called for at least two full construction seasons following the engineering phases.
Engineers currently are drawing Phase One preliminary plans, which the Federal Highway Administration and IDOT could approve in early 2023.
In addition to past sessions with a Community Advisory Group to obtain input on the grade separation project, Elmwood Park has held one public informational meeting. According to a village timeline, the village intends to hold a second public meeting later this spring.
“We haven’t yet set a firm date for the next public meeting, but we are discussing various dates in May,” Elmwood Park Village Manager Paul Volpe said. “We will notify the public as soon as these details have been determined. Participation from the public always makes for a better project.”
At the rail intersection, three sets of tracks cross Grand Avenue at a 10-degree angle and vehicles trying to travel straight down Grand Avenue must pass over 179 feet of rail. Federal authorities have labeled the intersection “inherently dangerous.”
The necessity for the Elmwood Park grade separation is underscored by the potential of more trains using the tracks in the near future and causing further delays for traffic and emergency vehicles.
In addition to some Canadian Pacific freight trains, Metra’s Milwaukee District West line to Elgin and North Central Service line to Antioch currently pass through Elmwood Park. Canadian Pacific is in the process of petitioning the federal Surface Transportation Board for a merger with Kansas City Southern railroad, which would increase rail traffic on the Milwaukee District West tracks.
In a new federal filing , Metra contends that the merger would cause safety concerns and disruptive delays for passengers.
“Safety is the number one concern for our residents, and the Grand Avenue underpass will provide a huge measure of additional safety,” Elmwood Park President Angelo “Skip” Saviano said in a statement. “But also important are the countless hours that will be saved by motorists who must now wait for Metra commuter and Canadian Pacific freight trains.”
Saviano credited Duckworth and U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley for securing the appropriations funding recently released.
“I was proud to include this safety improvement among my requests last year and I am thrilled that it has now been fully funded and signed into law,” Quigley, of the 5th Congressional District, said in a statement. “Projects like the grade separation of West Grand Avenue Highway are unique needs that would not typically receive attention from a large funding package. Installing this grade separation won’t just improve safety, it will also increase mobility and ameliorate the environmental impacts of the intersection.”
In addition to the recent funding, the Illinois Commerce Commission last December designated $3.1 million from Governor Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois capital bill, part of $24 million in pledged funding commitments for the project.
Elmwood Park also has received $2.1 million from the federal Surface Transportation Program for the underpass project and $700,000 each from IDOT and Cook County.
According to Volpe, the village will seek various grants from the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program (CRISI), the Infrastructure For Rebuilding America program (INFRA), the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program (RAISE) and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ).
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, of 7,920 rail crossings in the state, the Elmwood Park Grand Avenue rail intersection is the sixth most-likely to have a collision.
Located between 76th Avenue and 77th Court, the crossing was where a Metra train in November, 2005, struck six vehicles that were stopped on the tracks
More Top Picks Best Cake Levelers
, according to baiduhai reporting.Elmwood Park village statistics cite 222 various types of accidents at the rail intersection between 2014 and 2018. There have been 45 crashes at the grade crossing that resulted in seven fatalities and 27 injuries between 1956 and 2005.