CHICAGO — A northwest suburb will ask to add the 243rd station on Metra’s commuter rail system, while improvements at other stations are also in the news.
— Des Plaines will formally apply for funding for a new station on the North Central Service line following a city council vote on Monday. The station will be part of a revitalization project for areas along Oakton and Lee Streets, which the council has approved for a Tax Increment Financing District to fund the development, the Journal & Topics reports. The new station would be on Oakton Street and will cost an estimated $11.6 million. Metra approval is required; the agency began drafting a formal process for such requests earlier this year. [See “New Metra plan would assess station use,” Trains News Wire, March 28, 2019.] Des Plaines already has a station on the Union Pacific Northwest line.
— A ribbon-cutting was held Tuesday for the renovated Healy station, a Milwaukee District North stop on Chicago’s Northwest Side, two stops from Union Station. The $7.3-million renovation — including new heated shelters, ramps for individuals with disabilities, and upgrades of lighting and drainage — was completed earlier this year, but officials waited until new mosaic murals at the site were complete, Block Club Chicago reports.
— Homewood, on the Metra Electric District, has received $300,000 from Cook County for a major renovation of its station, the Homewood-Flossmoor Chronicle reports. The current station is not handicap accessible and suffers water leaks in its pedestrian tunnel. The funding will go toward a planned renovation of the station complex, including Homewood’s Amtrak station and Pace bus terminal. Metra applied for the money from the Invest in Cook fund, and for funds from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning that will be awarded in October.
— Brookfield, on the BNSF line, has authorized a $58,800 contract for a new roof, gutters and downspouts on its Metra station, as well as replacement and repainting of deteriorating wood trim. The work could begin in late September but the actual date will depend on BNSF providing flaggers for the adjacent platform and the contractor providing proof of insurance, the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark reports.
