Chicago’s Metra commuter rail, Union Pacific Railroad (UP), Lombard and DuPage County officials broke ground Wednesday on more than $9.7 million in improvements along the UP West Line, including a new pedestrian underpass, rebuilt platforms and new platform canopies.

The work includes an $8.1 million contract with John Burns Construction for the new pedestrian tunnel, retaining walls, ADA ramps, stairways, platform shelters, canopies over both inbound and outbound platforms, landscaping and other ancillary items for the station. The work is expected to take about 10 months.

Under a separate project, the platforms also will be reconstructed, at an estimated cost of $1.6 million. Some of that work will be done in conjunction with the tunnel project. The station will remain open during construction, and all work will be staged to minimize the disruption to riders.

The tunnel is a component of a multi-million dollar Metra/UP project designed to improve the flow of commuter and freight traffic on the heavily used line. Another component was the installation of the “Another Train Warning System” at eight stations along the line. That system uses audible and visual alerts to warn pedestrians at crossings near the stations that another train — in addition to the one that is stopped at the station — is approaching or present.

Other grade crossing protections include new paths that safely guide pedestrians to a gated crossing, more pedestrian gates and more inter-track fencing to discourage pedestrians from crossing at unsafe and unauthorized locations.