Belmont Underpass 95 Percent Complete: Village of Downers Grove

Work on the Belmont Underpass is nearly complete, according to Downers Grove officials.

The announced last week that the underpass—located at the intersection of Belmont Road and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks—is now 95 percent complete, with most of the finishing touches expected to be done by the end of the month.

"The contractor told us the road should be open to four lanes of traffic by the end of September," said Doug Kozlowski, communications director for the Village of Downers Grove.

Construction on the $59 million underpass at the Belmont Station began in May 2010, nearly eight years after the village entered into an agreement with the state, DuPage County, the BNSF Railway and Metra.

The project—conceived in response to a high number of traffic accidents at the location—reconfigured the intersection from an at-grade crossing to an underpass, with Belmont Road located under the tracks, as well as Warren and Burlington avenues.

The underpass, according to Metra and village officials, will improve vehicular and pedestrian safety, create faster emergency response times for fire and police personnel, improve the flow of traffic and increase accessiblity to the nearby Ellsworth Industrial Park.

Although the project was scheduled to be wrapped up in June 2013, much of the work has been completed ahead of schedule, according to village officials.

On Friday, a landscaper was on site tackling the weeds around the Belmont station, which grew from a temporary grass seed and blanket. Workers began installing permanent seeding and sod at the beginning of the month.

The village also announced Friday that work is underway on the intersection of Belmont Road and Curtiss Street.

The $3 million project, which is being coordinated by DuPage County, will improve the intersection through traffic signal modernization, sidewalk reconstruction and bridge rehabilitation.

However, due to the project's proximity to the underpass, congestion on Bemont Road has continued to be an issue for motorists, village officials said.

"Motorists have experienced significantly more delays getting to the Belmont commuter station, as well as traveling north on Belmont Road in the mornings this past week," village officials said Friday. "Staff is working with the county, as well as Metra, to manage their two adjacent projects, in conjunction with the village's water main replacement project on Curtiss, to reduce the congestion."

In the coming weeks, workers on the underpass project will install final asphalt surface and striping after landscaping is complete.

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