CLARENDON HILLS, Ill. — Commuter railroad Metra has pledged an additional $1 million toward construction of a new station in Clarendon Hills, raising its total commitment to $1.5 million.
The community, 18 rail miles from downtown Chicago on the Metra BNSF line, plans to begin work this fall on the new station. It should be completed in 2020, the Chicago Tribune reports. Various other state and regional agencies have also pledged funds; the village will sell bonds for its capital improvement fund to cover the rest of the estimated cost or $8.3 million to $8.5 million for the station and related improvements.
The new station will include canopies, enclosed waiting areas and covered bike shelters, but will not include restrooms or a ticket counter. The project also includes improvements to a grade crossing at Prospect Avenue and other improvements to Prospect and Burlington avenues.
Since Clarendon Hills is my home station, I feel obligated to respond. There has not been a ticket agent at this station for almost 2 years. The decline in sales due to on-line purchases via the Ventra app as resulted in ticket offices being closed at several stations. When an agent retires, they are not being replaced.
There are few ADA issues at Clarendon Hills as the adjacent streets and the station parking lot are close to the elevation of the tracks.
Having completed a few station projects in my career, the costs seem in line with the work that is to be done. There are some street improvements in addition to the station work that are increasing the costs a little.
GERALD – Thanks for the addition to my post re: ADA compliance. That’s what I had in mind to say in my own post but I didn’t say it, I only thought it.
Bradley Cupp,
Something that Charles didn’t entirely mention but that adds a significant cost is the station having to be ADA compliant, ADA(American’s with Disabilities Act) requirements add a lot of expense to almost all projects as there are specific rules that must be followed.
Maybe the construction co. will leave will leave a port a potty for 8.2 mill
I don’t understand why basic rail depots come with such a high price tag. A fully functional and furnished elementary school along with site improvements comes in at about $8million.
The problem with bathrooms is the potential for damage to the facility with no one present. Either thru deliberate vandalism or just someone with excessive need of facilities and who uses the facility to excess. Resulting in a mess.
San Francisco has public facilities on Market St in San Francisco. They are well designed for the neighborhood and excessively engineered. I do not remember what they cost.
No passenger station should be without restrooms !
BRADLEY CUPP – While your advocacy for responsible spending is to be admired, I think your numbers are off. A bit off, I’d say, not off by an order of magnitude. I don’t know where you got the figure that a fully furnished elementary school along with site improvements can be done for $8 million. That number seems low for most schools, at least in the larger school districts. Depends of course on the size of the school and the site to be improved. I do know in my school district (Elmbrook, Waukesha County Wisconsin) it took about $70 million several years ago to refurbish (not build from scratch) the two high schools, Brookfield East and Brookfield Central. This was after the school district asked for $100 million but didn’t get it. In the several years since, the school district has surely spent the $30 million capital improvements it wanted but didn’t get back then.
As for the Clarendon Hills station, I’m not familiar with it. The article does state the ancillary improvements such as to nearby streets. Perhaps comparable, five miles to the east, would be LaGrange Stone Avenue site improvements, where platforms, handicap ramps, handicap sidewalks, parking, landscaping etc. rapidly added up.
$8.3 million is a lot of money but bear in mind the villages and cities in the Metra area collect the parking revenue.
This puzzled me because they already have a nice station with covered canopies and whatnot, and if they don’t want the ticket area or washrooms, just lock them up.
Last year, Metra replaced their Rock island line station in New Lenox with a “temporary” mobile office trailer. Supposedly, a new permanent New Lenox station will be built (someday), but nobody is saying when.