Rail Upgrades
How to Relocate A Grand Railroad

by Craig Barner

A $44 million project in northwest suburban Franklin Park is relocating a railroad segment in part to improve traffic flow for commuters on nearby streets.

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Grand Avenue is well-known to motorists in western Cook and eastern DuPage counties for congestion. At-grade rail lines hauling mostly freight cross the east-west thoroughfare and cause frequent traffic tie-ups.

The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad runs about 25 to 30 freight trains a day, and the Canadian National Railway Co. operates about 15 to 20 freight trains daily, said John Mick II, program manager of the Grand Avenue Railroad Relocation Authority, the project's owner, and vice president of Chicago-based Clark Dietz Inc., the project manager and resident engineer.

Adding to the congestion is that only about a quarter- to half-mile separates the two north-south lines. And, approximately five to eight other railroad companies operate trains on the tracks, further contributing to the strain for commuters on local streets.

"It's a linchpin in Chicago," Mick added. Indeed, the lines carry cargo originating in or destined for Mexico and Canada.

A study done in 2002 by the Illinois Commerce Commission showed that the crossing where Grand meets the IHB as the fifth worst in northeastern Illinois for daily vehicle delay (4,988 vehicles) and sixth worst for daily motorist delay (171 hours). The less-busy CN causes about a one-third the delay of the IHB but nevertheless adds to commuter woes.

Franklin Park overall ranked as the sixth worst community in the region for motorist delay (276 hours), also according to the ICC study.

Despite these problems, Grand is a vital artery because it averages 33,000 commuters every weekday, said Jeffrey Eder, director of community development for Franklin Park.

The improvement project began in October 2004 and is expected to finish in July 2007.

Merging Tracks

The key project element is the consolidation of the two rail corridors into one large alignment with a three-track bridge across Grand.

The existing one-track CN alignment is being expanded to accommodate the two-track IHB, said David Talbott, vice president of Clark Dietz. The 66 ft. of right-of-way on the CN is wide enough to hold the additional track, though property was acquired along parts of the project.

About 2 mi. of track will have been laid on new and existing alignment by the time the project is finished.

The new IHB track through the segment will resemble a crooked grin. It will gently arc about a quarter- to half-mile east of its present location, run north at a slight westerly angle on the CN alignment and bend back northwest where it will meet up with a Canadian Pacific Railway line, as it currently does.

A couple key changes will occur to improve traffic flow:

An underpass about 30 ft. below grade is under construction where Grand meets the CN. Also, slightly more than 0.75 mi. of the present IHB corridor in Franklin Park will be abandoned and converted into a north-south street, Martens Avenue, which will provide a gateway to the city's business district.

Reduced congestion is expected because eight at-grade crossings will be eliminated, including those on Grand.

Air quality is anticipated to benefit because projections show more than 200 hours a day of vehicle delay will be eliminated, Mick said.

And, safety should improve. An industrial area in the center of Franklin Park that is inaccessible to emergency vehicles while trains are on both tracks will be reachable.

A benefit for the railroads is that train speed can increase because of the improved track alignment.

"They travel through the area at 10 to 15 miles per hour," Mick said. "When the project is done, they'll travel through the area at 25 to 30 mph."

Accommodating Trains, People

The project is phased in seven stages in part to accommodate motorists and the railroads.

For instance, during the project's first phase, which occurred in fall 2004, a run-around was constructed on Grand to allow motorists to get through the section of the street blocked off for the bridge and underpass construction. This, then, allowed for the excavation of the east side of the bridge to start in the second phase.

In early March, the project was in its fifth phase. Work in this phase includes excavating the west side of bridge.

A substantial amount of trackwork construction was involved in the project, most of which was done in the third phase during fall 2005.

In addition to the 2 mi. of track, about 12,700 tons of granite ballast and 6,940 ties were laid, said Doris Shutko, senior material coordinator for Chicago-based CTE/Aecom, the design engineer.

A lot of manual labor was involved in this project element in part because the area is relatively short.

After the subballast was laid for initial grade, the ties were placed by hand, said Steve Wilson, project engineer for Des Plaines-based Lorig Construction Co., a member of the Lorig/Lindahl Bros. Inc. Joint Venture serving as the general contractor on the project. The rail, which had been stockpiled next to active track and moved to where it was needed, was hand-spiked to the ties.

Other trackwork included laying the ballast and using a tamping machine to set the final grade and laser-operated machinery to provide the final the track alignment.

Likewise, a lot of civil construction was done, including construction of embankments to form the north and south sides of the underpass; installing drainage and a pumping station; the relocation of a water main; street construction; and the conversion of a street into parking.

Some environmental remediation was done on the project.

The former Joslyn Manufacturing Co. site south of Grand was contaminated with creosote because it had once been used to treat railroad ties and telephone poles, said Clark Dietz's Talbott. Some contaminated soil was removed and sent to an industrial landfill, and later the ground was tested and capped.

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