Meeting Held To Share Details of 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project

Several decaying viaducts on the south side will soon be repaired as part of the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project which was created to solve transportation and mobility issues for trains and residents in the designated project area. Photo Credit: Provided by the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project
Several decaying viaducts on the south side will soon be repaired as part of the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project which was created to solve transportation and mobility issues for trains and residents in the designated project area. Photo Credit: Provided by the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project

Meeting Held To Share Details of 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

The Illinois Department of Transportation recently held a public open house at Freedom Temple Church of God in Christ, 1459 W. 74th St., to give community members an update on the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project and to allow them to view exhibits and speak with the project team to learn about the status, design, and construction timelines for the project.

The 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project is the largest project in the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE), according to information provided by the Chicago Department of Transportation.

The CREATE project is being designed and executed collaboratively by the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the Chicago Department of Transportation, Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways, Metra, Amtrak, and the Association of American Railroads.

The purpose of the CREATE project was to identify train and road problems in the Chicago region and then find ways to address those problems in a way that would improve how trains, pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles move through the community.

The 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project runs through the Chatham neighborhood and addresses a variety of issues that were identified with help from the community, including decaying viaducts, points where the Metra service conflicts with freight trains and delays on roadways due to trains.

“This is a multi-million dollar project that has been going on for several years and is going to have a lot of new jobs and contracts involved in it,” said David Moore, Alderman of the 17th Ward. “Don’t wait until they start working on this project to come out and say that you need jobs, we are trying to get people in place before the jobs get started and you can start getting prepared right now. We already have several African American contractors on this deal and I’m so happy about that.”

In addition to Chatham, the project will also impact the neighborhoods of Ashburn, Englewood, and Auburn Gresham which are also along the path of the two passenger and four freight train rail lines that the project is working to improve.

“The project’s purpose is to improve mobility for rail passengers, freight, and motorists. To achieve that purpose, the project needs to reduce rail to rail crossing conflicts, reduce road to rail crossing conflicts, improve passenger rail reliability, and address community mobility issues,” said a spokesperson from the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project during the recent open house.

Currently, the project is in phase two which is the final design phase for the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project. The CREATE partners have established a tentative schedule that has the construction phase of the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project beginning in 2020.

To learn more about the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project, what it includes, and how to get involved, visit www.75thcip.org.

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