Metra, State Officials Celebrate Completion of Belmont Underpass

State and local officials were joined Wednesday by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and representatives from Metra to celebrate the long-awaited completion of the Belmont Road grade separation in Downers Grove.

The $60 million project reconfigured the intersection of Belmont Road and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks from an at-grade crossing to an underpass, with Belmont Road located under the tracks, as well as Warren and Burlington avenues. 

Prior to the grade separation, an estimated 20,000 vehicles passed through the location daily, with nearly 3,500 of them being delayed by the 200 commuter and freight trains carried by the three BNSF tracks, according to state officials. 

The underpass is expected to dramatically improve traffic conditions in the area, cutting down on travel time and improving safety for both motorists and pedestrians.

"The importance and benefits of the Belmont Road Underpass toward enhancing public safety and mobility in Downers Grove cannot be overstated," Downers Grove Mayor Martin Tully said during the dedication ceremony Wednesday morning. "Many will recall that the Belmont Road and Warren Avenue intersection was once considered to be the most dangerous grade crossing in the area. Now, through this impressive engineering accomplishment that threat no longer exists."

Planning for the Belmont grade separation began more than a decade ago, and involved a special collaboration among multiple entities, including the Village of Downers Grove, Metra, BNSF Railway, DuPage County, the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois Commerce Commission and the Federal Transit Administration.

Representatives for each of the agencies were on hand to celebrate the project's completion. Guests included State Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale), Rep. Patricia Bellock (R-Westmont), DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin, IDOT Secretary Ann Schneider, Metra Board Member Paul C. Darley and Metra CEO Alex Clifford.

"Anyone who has been involved in this project knows it was not easy," Darley said. "Coming up with the money to invest in our infrastructure was very difficult, and keeping the focus and commitment in face of many obstacles was hard. I have no doubt, seeing the project completed before us, that it was worthwhile, and will continue to pay dividends in the future."

The Belmont project received $19.8 million in funding from Metra, $12 million from the Illinois Commerce Commission's Grade Crossing Protection fund, $2.7 million from BNSF and $5.3 million from the Federal Transit Administration's Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. Another $19.8 million was awarded through Gov. Quinn's six-year, $31 billion "Illinois Jobs Now!"—the largest capital construction program in state history.

Quinn praised the various state and local agencies that took on the massive underpass project, emphasizing the importance of working together to invest in the state's transportation infrastructure.

"There's no such thing as Democratic underpasses or Republican underpasses," Quinn said. "It's all about Illinois doing better, and that's what we constantly have to focus on to be a better state. Transportation is the heart and soul of Illinois."

Since construction on the underpass began in May 2010, the project has created nearly 650 jobs, Quinn said.

"All of these investments (in transportation) pay great dividends in terms of jobs," he said. "Hundreds of jobs were created by this project. It's a very important project that created a lot of work for good people who needed to work."

In addition to reducing traffic delays near the Belmont train station, the underpass has improved vehicle response times and increased access to nearby businesses in the Ellsworth Business Park. Tully said the project will also support economic development along the Belmont Road corridor for years to come.

“Thanks to the cooperation and persistence of many partners at multiple levels of government, this location has been transformed and now provides a safe and efficient travel route for motorists and pedestrians alike," Tully said. "The patience of the community has been rewarded with a terrific project completed both on budget and ahead of schedule.” 

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