More timely commutes for Milwaukee West Metra riders on track
Two projects intended to reduce delays for Milwaukee District West Line passengers moved forward at a Wednesday Metra meeting.
Board directors approved a $7.9 million contract to build new switches and connections between parallel train tracks near Franklin Park that will relieve congestion and move rail cars faster. The Canadian Pacific Railroad will pay for most of the work.
Directors also approved amending the capital budget to include an extra $25 million in federal funding. About $11 million comes from a recently approved multiyear transportation bill while $14 million is a result of a federal grant Metra was awarded after four previous tries.
The $14 million will help pay to build a new two-track bridge over the Fox River in Elgin, the western terminus of the Milwaukee District West Line. The current bridge, which is more than 100 years old, is a single track, which can cause traffic backups that resonate through the entire rail line.
Metra will repair the existing bridge once the new one is finished. Design work is continuing and should be complete this year with construction likely starting in 2017.
The federal money is a plus, officials said, given that Metra is out about $400 million in state funding as a result of the budget crisis.
Metra officials also gave a security update in the wake of suicide bombings in Belgium Tuesday that killed at least 31 people including 11 at the Brussels airport and 20 in an explosion in a subway train as it neared a station close to the European Union headquarters.
"We're getting good feedback from commuters that they're feeling safe," Metra police Chief Joseph Perez said.
Metra deployed extra officers at trains and stations and is working with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, Perez said, adding the TSA had dispatched its own agents to assist the commuter railroad.
So far, however, "we've had nothing out of the ordinary," Perez said.