Village Presents Plan For Underpass At Grand Avenue Railway Crossing
By Kevin Gosztola, Editor
A little more than two decades after a horrific accident at the Grand Avenue railway crossing, the Village of Elmwood Park presented its plan for an underpass and pedestrian overpass.
The “Grand Gateway Project,” which is being pursued in partnership with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways, shared the plan at an open house at the Elmwood Park Parks and Recreation Center.
Members of the public were invited to share comments that would be recorded by a federal court reporter, however, only two people participated in public comment. Around 40 or more people attended the open house.
In 2008, as the Elm Leaves reported, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) “recommended that the state provide the resources to separate the road from the tracks, either by way of an underpass or overpass.”
The recommendation came after an accident that occurred in 2005 the day before Thanksgiving. A Metra train crashed into six vehicles that were “trapped in the crossing.” Around a dozen more vehicles were impacted by the six vehicles, and 16 people were injured (including three passengers on the train). Miraculously, no one died.
Over the past five years, the Grand Gateway Project developed six proposals for grade separation. The preferred proposal will be officially approved in the spring of next year.
The project will displace the Elms Funeral Home and the condos at 7610 Grand Avenue, which are on the east side of the train tracks. On the west side of the tracks, it will displace the Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Cherries Gaming Cafe, and A-Karrasel Child Care. One roadway, 77th Court, will be impacted as well.
Construction could potentially impact access to the village circle. In particular, the areas behind the fire station and library are marked on the project’s map.
The pedestrian overpass will be built by the Metra station on the west side of 76th Avenue and allow for relatively easy access for those walking or biking to the village circle.
Contract plan preparation and land acquisition, which is fully funded, is scheduled for completion in 2028 while construction is expected to be completed by 2030.
In total, around $75 million has been secured for the project. That covers all of the engineering, right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation, and engineering. But the project needs $60 million to pay for the costs of construction.
At the open house, a member of the project team who is part of IDOT said it should not be difficult for the necessary funds to be secured once the design for the underpass and pedestrian overpass is officially approved. That is largely because the project is considered “shovel-ready.”
The project is primarily a federal and state project, with the village government footing the bill for a relatively small amount of the costs.
Christopher Doyle, the husband of Board of Education Trustee Monica Doyle, and Abraham Diaz, a social worker at Elmwood Park High School, were the two residents who participated in public comment.
Doyle urged the project to take steps now so that the underpass does not become an “eyesore.”
After Doyle spoke, the project closed the public information meeting. It was then reopened for Diaz.
Diaz spoke about how he hoped the project would expand the commercial and economic space along Grand Avenue, “make it more walkable” and “more friendly” for bicyclists and those who struggle with accessibility.
No members of the project team specifically responded to the public comments.
Back on April 21, 2021, there were online breakout sessions held via Zoom to hear input from residents. Project team members responded to questions or concerns.
Of course, one of the main questions was how many residences would need to be removed. There were also concerns about the number of buildings that would be torn down and which proposal would be the “most invasive.”
“There isn’t a clear way for me to understand how this would impact the flow of traffic or the actual physical businesses in the area in close proximity to the project,” one resident said.
At least one earlier proposal showed a large stretch of Westwood Drive that would be impacted, which left several residents worried about what would happen to homes on this street. However, the project did not choose this proposal, and it appears from the shared proposal that a small number of residents will be directly impacted by construction.
The project noted that “impacted property owners” have already been notified. Once the village is ready to begin land acquisition, they will offer fair market value for all of the properties that must be acquired.
According to crash statistics displayed by the Grand Gateway Project, 131 incidents occurred at the Grand Avenue crossing between 2020 and 2024. There were two crashes that resulted in deaths and three that resulted in serious injuries.
Elmwood Park Village Manager Paul Volpe, who was present at the open house and meeting, told Elm Leaves in February 2024, “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 added.
The Grand Avenue crossing was labeled “inherently dangerous” by the NTSB after the 2005 accident.
For anyone with questions or concerns about the project, public comments will be collected through the project’s website until January 12, 2026, and added to the meeting’s “official public record.”
I have lived on 76 Ave for 33 years, the underpass will solve the issue of cars getting stopped on the tracks. The problem has always been the amount of traffic going east on Grand Ave into Chicago getting backed up because of all the traffic lights to get to Harlem Ave after the crossing. Because of all the traffic now turning left on north 76 Ave to Diversey Ave then goes into Chicago happens. The left turn lane to north 76Ave should have been eliminated along time ago. Now with all the foot traffic at the intersection with Culver’s and the Metra crosswalk to the trains and the occasional back up from the car wash.. slows turning traffic even more. Marwood Ave and that open land along side of the tracks west of the crossing all the way to First Ave should have been used as by-passes during stopped trains. These 3 sets of tracks cut our town in half and traffic during stopped train become extremely more dangerous on our side streets.
Diaz is 100% spot on. What is EP Village’s professionally designed plan to create a space that benefits the community and encourages walkability and retail. Not another eyesore that isn’t thought out. Let the community share ideas.