Chicago’s Metra added funding for two new stations in Chicago to its capital program after the state of Illinois said it would release the money for the long-awaited projects. The stations will be built at Auburn Park near 79th Street on the Rock Island Line and Peterson and Ridge on the Union Pacific North Line.
The two stations have been planned for years, and Metra intended to fund construction of both with its share of proceeds from two state of Illinois bond programs from 2009. However, that funding was first held up in the state’s budget woes and then cut in 2017, when the state informed Metra that its share from the bond programs would be reduced to $835.7 million from $1.1 billion.
Funding for the stations was restored in recent state budgets, and the state has told Metra it is releasing the money — $15 million for Peterson Ridge and $20 million for Auburn Park.
Planning for the Peterson Ridge Station is further along than for Auburn Park, with the engineering design essentially complete. Metra anticipates putting the project out to bid this summer with construction starting later this year or early next year.
Work on the design for the Auburn Park Station is currently 60% complete. The Metra Board approved a $1.1 million change order with the firm T.Y. Lin International Inc., to complete design for the station to be located just south of 79th Street on the Rock Island Line. Metra’s goal is to have the design complete by the end of 2019 with construction planned for spring 2020.
Amtrak will open grant applications March 23 for community projects near the Frederick Douglass Tunnel alignment in Baltimore as part of a $50 million investment tied to the B&P Tunnel Replacement Program.
The Denmark Station $2.3 million construction investment project includes a new 280-foot concrete boarding platform, built eight inches above the top of rail, for improved accessibility for passengers with disabilities and families with small children and much more.
Caltrain and its partners have implemented safety improvements at specific locations in response to known risk conditions, operational needs, and available funding since the agency’s founding.
On a recent episode of METROspectives, METRO Magazine’s Executive Editor Alex Roman sat down with Ana-Maria Tomlinson, Director of Strategic & Cross-Sector Programs at the CSA Group, to explore a bold initiative aimed at addressing those challenges: the development of a National Code for Transit and Passenger Rail Systems in Canada.
Competitive FTA grants will support accessibility upgrades, family-friendly improvements, and cost-efficient capital projects at some of the nation’s oldest and busiest transit hubs.
The 3.92-mile addition will soon take riders west beyond its current Wilshire and Western station in Koreatown, continuing under Wilshire Boulevard through neighborhoods and communities including Hancock Park, Windsor Square, the Fairfax District, and Carthay Circle into Beverly Hills.
Under the plan, all long-distance routes will transition to a universal single-level fleet, replacing today’s mix of bi-level and single-level equipment.
