Metra and its railroad partners today announced plans to begin infrastructure improvements to its stations, track, bridges and road crossings to ensure safe and reliable service and maintain a state of good repair systemwide. Construction work is expected to begin this week and continue through the fall, weather permitting.
“Now that spring is here, we plan to take full advantage of the construction season by making improvements where we can with our limited funding,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. “Our goal is to be as efficient as possible with the resources we have and limit the impact of construction activity on our customers.”
A portion of the work is being performed by Metra’s in-house crews, who are dispatched to make repairs to stations and carry out other smaller jobs, as well as contracted construction firms for larger-scale projects.
Most work will be performed during off-peak hours and on weekends. Metra will issue construction schedules for its trains during some of these projects. Construction schedules are issued when workers need to be on or very near the tracks, requiring trains to reduce speed or stop before proceeding through the construction zone. These schedules, in general, add 10 to 15 minutes to the length of a trip. When construction schedules are in place, the modified schedules are reflected in Metra’s web-based Rail-Time Tracker and Schedule Finder and the Ventra App’s Transit Tracker feature. The construction schedules are also posted on our website.
STATION IMPROVEMENTS
Improvements are planned for 27 of Metra’s 241 stations this year, including the following stations along the Metra Electric Line:
- Calumet Station – A full, $5.5 million renovation of the station will include rebuilding the platforms, constructing a new elevator and replacing the stairs at both ends of the station. Construction should start this spring.
- 111th Street/Pullman Station – This station will be given a $150,000 facelift starting this month. Most of the wooden components, such as the platform, stairs and warming house, will be repaired or replaced, and other cosmetic improvements, including painting, will be made.
- 115th Street/Kensington Station – This station will see a variety of repairs and replacements to wood components and other cosmetic improvements.
- 27th Street Station – New deck boards on the platform will be installed.
- Stewart Ridge Station – New deck boards on the platform will be installed, the staircases will be rebuilt and the warming shelter, platform lighting and fencing will be replaced.
- West Pullman Station – Project includes installing new deck boards on the platform, renewing the platform lighting and rebuilding the staircase. Repairs to the warming house will include ceiling and door replacement and interior and exterior painting.
- 59th Street Station – New deck boards on the platform will be installed. Construction began in 2015 and is scheduled for completion in mid-2016.
On the Heritage Corridor, Metra plans to replace the platforms at the Lemont Station.
On the Milwaukee North Line, the Northbrook Station will be given a $325,000 makeover, with new roof shingles, new windows, doors and floors and repairs to the concrete around the station. Metra will be adding 75 parking spots to the Grayland Station as part of a $1.2 million project. At the Glenview Station, the village will be overseeing a project to replace the station’s doors and air conditioning unit and will also oversee the replacement of doors at the North Glenview Station. Both projects will be completed this year. At the Mayfair Station, the replacement of lighting and construction of two new shelters will be completed in spring 2016.
Along the Milwaukee West Line, platforms will be replaced at the Big Timber Station and
Metra plans to replace the platform surface at the Buffalo Grove Station on the North Central Service.
In addition, Metra plans to make improvements at the following stations along the Rock Island Line:
- LaSalle Street Station – Metra will be replacing pavers on the platform and the structural steel supports. The $2 million project will go out for bid in the third quarter of this year.
- 103rd St./Washington Heights Station – Platforms will be replaced.
- 123rd St. Station – Metra is experimenting with heated platforms in a $700,000 test at this station. The new technology will be installed this year and tested next winter.
- Prairie St. Station – Platforms will be replaced.
On the Union Pacific (UP) North Line, Metra is replacing the roof and abating for lead paint at the Ravinia Station as part of a $500,000 project that should be completed in the summer. Metra will also be renovating the bathrooms and replacing concrete at the Waukegan Station. This project is expected to begin in April and be completed by the end of June 2016.
On the UP Northwest Line, rehabilitation of the Mount Prospect Station will include repairing the roof, replacing windows and doors, painting the interior and exterior of the station and warming shelter, replacing the exterior lighting fixtures with new LED lights and tuck pointing. Work will also include replacing guardrails and handrails to meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with
Disability Act (ADA). The $400,000 project is scheduled to begin in the spring. In addition, Union Pacific will finish replacing the platforms at the Cumberland Station beginning this week.
On the UP West Line, platform replacement work will begin this week at the Villa Park Station and later this year at the Winfield Station.
At the Riverside Station along the BNSF Line, the village of Riverside received a $600,000 Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) grant to rehabilitate the historic clay tile roof on the depot. The total estimated cost is $947,000; Metra and the village will split the remaining cost, with Metra contributing $173,500. The work is expected to take place this year.
At Chicago Union Station, the Madison Street entrance leading to the north platforms is being renovated in an $826,000 project that will repair the pavers, stairs and ceiling and make other cosmetic improvements. The work should start in June and take approximately four months to complete.
TRACK IMPROVEMENTS
Metra and its railroad partners plan to replace more than 120,000 railroad ties this year as part of the following railroad track improvement projects:
- A-2 – Metra will replace ten switches at this major switching point near Grand and Western that serves Metra’s Milwaukee West, Milwaukee North, North Central Lines, and Amtrak service, as well as Metra and Union Pacific rail yards used for passenger service.
- Amtrak – Amtrak will rebuild turnouts and switches on Track 1 near Roosevelt Road south of Chicago Union Station. This $1.8 million project will impact train traffic in and out of the south end of Union Station, which is used by Metra’s BNSF, SouthWest Service and Heritage Corridor lines in addition to Amtrak. The project is funded by Amtrak and Metra and is set to begin mid-April through the first week of June.
- Metra Electric – Metra will replace 10,000 ties from Kensington to University Park. The work is scheduled from August to September.
- Milwaukee North – Metra will replace rail between Wilson Avenue in Chicago (just past Mayfair) to Elm Street in Morton Grove (just south of the station). The work is scheduled from June to August.
- Rock Island – Metra will replace 10,000 ties between Gresham and Blue Island and between New Lenox and Joliet. Work is scheduled to begin April 7 through June 3.
- UP North – Union Pacific will replace 21,000 ties between Lake Bluff and Kenosha and carry out rail repair and replacement at various locations from Evanston/Davis Street to Zion. The work is scheduled for this month.
- UP West – Rail changes and welding at Kedzie is set to begin April 1 with tie replacement on two tracks from Kress Road in West Chicago to Peck Road in Geneva set to begin April 11. A more extensive project to replace 41,000 ties between West Chicago and Elburn is expected to begin in May.
- UP Northwest – Worn ties will be replaced in an area beginning about a half mile north of the Ogilvie Transportation Center in early April and in mid-April from Des Plaines to Barrington. In September and October, Union Pacific also plans to replace 9,000 ties between Mt. Prospect and Barrington on the main line to Harvard and 11,000 ties on its McHenry branch line.
- UP West – Pending the release of funding by the state, Metra and Union Pacific plan to begin a project that will remove two bottlenecks by installing a third set of tracks in the only remaining double-track segments along the UP West Line. About eight miles of a third track will be constructed through two separate projects. The first project includes construction of 1.8 miles of new track from UP’s Vale Interlocking Facility in River Forest (just east of the Des Plaines River) to 25th Avenue in Melrose Park. The second project includes construction of 6.1 miles of new track from Kress Road in West Chicago to Peck Road in Geneva. This approximately $90 million project will be paid for by UP and by funding provided to Metra by the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
- BNSF – BNSF will replace about 19,000 ties on one of its main tracks between Chicago and Lisle. In addition, they will replace 440 switch ties, 1,600 platform ties and ties on four bridges along the line. Switches and switch heaters will be replaced at two control points near Aurora. There will be resurfacing, undercutting and joint elimination at various locations in the corridor and about 1.5 miles of rail will be replaced at various curves.
BRIDGE IMPROVEMENTS
Improvements are planned for 21 bridges across the Metra system, including the Rock Island Line, the UP North Line and the BNSF Line:
Along the Rock Island, Metra will replace the bridge at Morgan Street in Chicago and rehabilitate the bridges at 37th, 39th, 51st and 57th Streets. In addition, a $4 million rehabilitation of the 96th Avenue bridge in Mokena will begin later this year.
On the UP North, Metra will begin the next phase of a project to replace bridges on the north side of Chicago. This phase includes 11 bridges for the inbound tracks over Grace, Irving Park, Berteau, Montrose, Sunnyside, Wilson, Leland, Lawrence, Winnemac, Foster and Balmoral. As part of this $30 million project, the new inbound half of the Ravenswood Station will be built. The work could start late this year and take about three years.
BNSF will be replacing the rail fastening on steel deck bridges at Keeler and 24th Street, California and 18th Street, Albany and 18th Street and Kedzie and 18th Street.
ROAD CROSSING IMPROVEMENTS
Metra and its railroad partners plan to make improvements to 24 road crossings systemwide in 2016, including:
- Metra Electric – Ashland Avenue, 70th Street and Stony Island Avenue in Chicago.
- Milwaukee West – Irving Park Road in Wood Dale, Highland Avenue in Elgin, York Road in Bensenville, Roselle Road in Roselle and Spaulding Road in Bartlett.
- Milwaukee North – Overlook Drive in Golf , Dundee Road in Northbrook and Fairfield Road in Long Lake.
- Rock Island – Cedar Road in New Lenox, Vermont Street in Blue Island, 139th Street in Robbins, Vincennes Avenue in Blue Island and 191st St. in Mokena.
- SouthWest Service – Francis Road near New Lenox and Route 52 in Manhattan.
- UP North – Washington Avenue in Highwood
- UP West – Finley Road in Lombard.
- BNSF – Kensington Road in LaGrange (construction begins April 11), Longcommon Drive in Riverside, Maple Avenue in Brookfield and East Avenue in Berwyn.
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS
Additionally, in 2016, BNSF plans to reconstruct the retaining walls at Hamlin Avenue in Chicago and replace the grade crossing warning device at Cass Avenue in Westmont.
Metra plans to begin a $5.5 million project to upgrade an electrical facility in Riverdale used to supply power along the Metra Electric Line. The project will go out to bid in May. Work is also scheduled to proceed on a similar project to upgrade the power supply facility at 51st Street.
Please click here to view a map of the construction projects above.