Metra, Chicago’s rail commuter operator, allocated funding for two new stations in Chicago to its capital programme after the state of Illinois announced it would release the funds 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 the construction of both with its share of proceeds from two state of Illinois bond programmes from 2009. 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 programmes would be reduced to USD 835.7 million from USD 1.1 billion. The funding for the stations was restored in recent state budgets, and the state informed Metra it is releasing USD 35 million, of which USD 15 million for Peterson Ridge and USD 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 percent complete. The Metra Board approved on 17 April a USD 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.
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