Franklin Park has received some early federal grant funding as part of a project to build an underpass near railways that run through the village.
Mayor Barrett Pedersen announced last month in his column in the village’s electronic newsletter that is posted on the village website that Franklin Park was awarded $8 million for a railway safety project.
The money is from the Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program run through the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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“We would be building one vehicular underpass. There is a possibility of a pedestrian underpass at a different location,” he told Pioneer Press.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration, the work will complete project development and final design for a grade separation of Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern tracks through the village while closing one or more at-grade crossings.
“Franklin Park is located very close to the mouth of the railroad yard in Bensenville. We have trains that stop frequently while students are traveling to high school and traveling away from high school. When there is a stopped train, students are not patient enough and they climb under a train,” Pedersen said.
He said there are often blockages of nearly 30 minutes.
“So getting vehicles or commuters, trucks or cargo, school buses, first responders and things from one side of the tracks to another has become a priority,” Pedersen said.
The mayor explained that the grant covers the first two phases of the “Connect Franklin Park: Bridging Barriers and Creating Opportunities” project, with each phase expected to take about two years to complete. Phase I of the project includes a feasibility study and the second phase involves complex drafting of specs and plans, according to details of the work.
The start of Phase I “wouldn’t be until we’ve had a chance to discuss the matter with the federal government’s consultant on this project,” Pedersen said.
The project, which Pedersen estimated could cost a total of $50 million to $80 million, would culminate with construction as the third phase. He said that could be about five or six years down the road if funding has been secured. The Federal Railroad Administration’s list of fiscal year 2022 Railroad Crossing Elimination Program project selections states that Franklin Park is providing a 20% funding match.
Franklin Park is looking to also get county and state assistance with raising the village’s needed matching funds, officials explained.
“Part of this is congestion and air quality mitigation. You have vehicles and trucks that are idling, sitting, still burning fossil fuels while they wait for a train to clear,” Pedersen said.
“When we start phase two, we’ll start completing grant (applications) for the construction portion for that. Then again we’ll be soliciting funds from the state, the county and other sources to match that 20%,” he said.
Pedersen said part of the second phase requires the village to consider several locations for the grade separation. He said the six Canadian Pacific Railway crossings relevant to the project are on 25th Avenue, and Calwagner, Edgington, Elm, Ruby and Scott streets.
“This project will make our infrastructure more resilient. It will make things safer and easier for people in Franklin Park and across the northwest suburbs who live with the daily reality of freight trains passing through their community,” U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Chicago, said in a news release.
His 4th Congressional District includes Franklin Park.
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.