Work continues on the Grand Gateway project focused on improving public safety where Grand Avenue crosses the Metra/Canadian Pacific in Elmwood Park, and area federal legislators have taken the issue to Washington to tout the importance of the needed upgrades — and ask for more money to pay for them.
Elmwood Park village leaders shared on the town’s Facebook Page a video of U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Chicago, asking the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration for Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds to improve more rail grade crossings.
“The Grand Avenue grade crossing in the village of Elmwood Park bordering my district is a significant safety concern. The crossing has more than 120 trains and 25,000 vehicle crossings every day,” Garcia said in the video that is posted on his X (formerly Twitter) feed.
Garcia’s 4th Congressional District includes the neighboring town of Franklin Park.
“It is 360 feet wide, the longest crossing in the state of Illinois, and is blocked for 20 minutes each hour during morning and evening travel. Elmwood Park is seeking federal support to construct a grade separation through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act discretionary grants.”
Elmwood Park Village Manager Paul Volpe told Pioneer Press that the Grand Avenue grade separation project, which could result in an underpass or other alternative crossing thoroughfare, stems from a 2005 accident.
According to a 2021 Illinois Commerce Commission news release about funding for safety improvements at the West Grand Avenue rail-highway crossing, 16 people were injured in 2005 when a Metra train traveling 70 mph struck six vehicles on the tracks, forcing them to collide with another 11 vehicles.
“It raised attention of how dangerous this particular crossing is. In fact, after completing its analysis the National Transportation Safety Board issued a mandate to the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois Commerce Commission to create a grade separation at this location,” Volpe said.
He described the location as adjacent to the village’s west end, with the grade separation at Grand Avenue to run from approximately 76th to 78th avenues.
“The tracks intersect at an 11-degree angle so they’re practically parallel and it’s an extremely long grade crossing so what happens is traffic backs up routinely during peak periods. Unfortunately, it’s rather common for cars to get stuck in between because there’s nowhere to go,” Volpe said.
He said that Phase I engineering on the project began in the second quarter of federal fiscal year 2020 and could be completed in the next year. The federal government’s fiscal year runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.
“This is a big project so it’s hard to put a tight time frame on it,” Volpe said. “It’s a long process to engineer this type of a grade separation and we’ve been pretty aggressive in applying for grants to help fund construction.”
According to Volpe, the Grand Avenue project is estimated to cost $121 million.
“It’s going to take a number of different sources to fund a project of this magnitude, so I think the majority will end up coming from federal grants eventually but it’ll be federal money and state money,” he said.
Cook County, the Illinois Commerce Commission and Metra have also put some money toward the project, Volpe said.
According to Elmwood Park’s Facebook page, Village President Angelo “Skip” Saviano has been working with a congressional delegation to secure federal funding for the project.
“This is a regional project. This isn’t about Elmwood Park. It’s about all of our communities along this corridor, including the city of Chicago, working together to really improve safety, address congestion and provide an opportunity to redevelop,” Saviano stated on the Grand Gateway website, which provides public information about the project.
Benefits to adding the rail crossing listed on grandgatewayep.com include increased safety, more efficient response times from the police and fire departments, improved mobility for all modes of transportation, reduced congestion and delays, and reduced vehicle-train conflict.
“It’ll definitely eliminate a very dangerous situation that exists today and will make traveling down Grand Avenue much safer,” Volpe said about the project.
Grand Avenue runs from the lakefront in the city of Chicago to west suburban Bensenville.
“Because of the delays, which seem to be getting even worse with the freight activity we have here, a lot of people just avoid the corridor entirely. Not only will (the project) enhance safety but it will also allow people to use Grand Avenue with less trepidation and it should be an economic activity driver as well.”
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.
