Officials celebrate completion of Lombard pedestrian underpass

Improved safety, increased convenience and teamwork were celebrated Monday during a dedication ceremony for renovations at Lombard's Metra station.

The nearly $9.8 million station makeover took about a year to finish. The highlight of the project was a pedestrian underpass that opened in June, providing walkers, runners, bicyclists and the 1,300 commuters who use the station every day a new way to travel north and south without crossing over the tracks.

"The safest railroad crossing is one that does not exist," said Donald Orseno, executive director of Metra. "Clearly this station is a poster child for that. ... No one is going to have to cross the tracks and put their lives in danger."

Although the underpass has been open for several months, work on landscaping, lighting, canopies and accessible ramps continued through the summer and into fall. Village President Keith Giagnorio thanked residents and business owners for being patient during construction.

"This safe passage allows neighbors and guests to move freely between our downtown shops and restaurants and events in and around Lilacia Park without having to worry about interacting with train traffic," he said.

Some highlights on the south side of the tracks, he said, include the Lombard Historical Society, the Lombard Community Senior Center, Maple Street Chapel and the Helen Plum Library.

Metra and Union Pacific each spent more than $3 million on the project. The Illinois Commerce Commission contributed about $750,000, and the village put in about $294,000, mostly toward upgraded aesthetics such as bronze medallions featuring the village's logo.

"There's a lot of government involved in a project like this, but this is a demonstration of everyone coming together and doing it right, and I want to commend all the folks who played a role here," said DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin. "It's really rewarding to be here on a day like this when you can cut a ribbon and see something very good happen."

The pedestrian tunnel, just east of Park Avenue, is part of a series of safety upgrades along the Union Pacific West Line.

"Many, many man-hours, field visits and a lot of work and engineering have really gone into making this project a success," said Union Pacific Railroad Assistant Vice President Lisa Lawson Stark. "Now that we've completed station improvements, such as this, along our West Line, UP and Metra are moving forward to advance a third main line project, which is going to add additional mainline tracks to support both freight and passenger operations, to ensure that our service continues to run very safely and very reliably."