HOMEWOOD, Ill. — Shovels were out Monday, manned for the cameras by masked Amtrak, Metra, and civic officials that helped arrange $29 million of federal and local funding that will enhance the original 1923 Illinois Central Homewood, Ill., facility with features that make it completely accessible to passengers with disabilities.
Construction began in July on the complicated project, where a 1911-vintage pedestrian tunnel undeneath Canadian National and Metra Electric tracks links separate island platforms of different heights to serve Amtrak’s City of New Orleans, Illini/Saluki state-supported trains to Carbondale, Ill., and Metra’s University Park line.
The tunnel is being modernized with new walls, waterproofing, ventilation, lighting, accessible pedestrian ramping, and elevators at both ends under the multi-track main lines. Metra will soon be bidding out rehabilitation of the small structure above the tunnel’s east side, where there is extensive parking and suburban PACE bus connections. On the west side, Amtrak is constructing a modern ramp building to house the elevator and walkways, but will retain and upgrade the waiting area and restrooms of the existing station.
“We’ll put down new tile and move some walls to make the restrooms accessible, but you should be able to distinguish what is new and what was original to this space without taking away any of the history or character of the building — it’s really a beautiful station,” Amtrak Project Manager Jamie Shindell tells Trains News Wire on a tour of the work site after the groundbreaking ceremony. “The focus is to make it easy for passengers of any mobility to get around,” she adds.
Bill Moore, Project Manager for primary contractor Granite Construction, explains, “There has been a lot of staging involved to keep the Metra platform open.” While new stairs are being built, there is currently no tunnel access to Metra platforms from the west, but Moore expects to complete that job within the next few weeks and open the tunnel.
Safety concerns during ongoing construction of an entirely new Amtrak platform, according to Shindell, have meant that Amtrak trains have not been able to stop at Homewood since August, but passengers to and from the south can still buy through tickets that involve a shuttle bus transfer at Kankakee, Ill. She says travelers will again be able to use a temporary, 100-foot platform by the end of March 2021 when the elevator will be in service. The full build-out is set to be completed by next October.
Amtrak’s $15 million contribution to the project is one of the company’s largest accessibility-designated capital expenditures, while Metra’s $4 million infusion is being augmented with money from the Federal Transit Administration, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Cook County, and $585,000 from the Village of Homewood. When completed, the tunnel will link the town’s vibrant business district to residential areas west of the tracks with a pleasant and fully-accessible passageway.
