Winfield trustees OK petition to seek grant

Winfield is a step closer to building an underpass near the village's Metra train station.

But trustees said they likely won't know the precise cost of the project until June, when officials are expected to begin accepting bids on the work.

"We don't know exactly how much this is going to cost," Trustee Cliff Mortenson said. "But I'm willing to go forward and find out that bottom line figure."

The village board narrowly approved a plan on Thursday to submit a petition to the Illinois Commerce Commission to receive up to $852,000 in grant money to pay for the underpass.

The vote comes two weeks after the village board approved accepting a separate $300,000 state grant to fund the approximately $4 million project.

Trustees said they were willing to pursue construction of the underpass, but only if the village's local share of the cost remains minimal.

"If the project ends up costing $700,000, we simply can't afford that," Mortenson said.

The crossing has generated a series of passionate responses from both supporters and detractors.

The village board stalled a vote in January on accepting the $300,000 grant following a meeting that attracted several residents who questioned the value of the project.

But Winfield trustees agreed to revisit the vote after Union Pacific informed the village that the railroad company would be closing an above-grade crosswalk at the Metra train station by March 1.

Several residents, teachers and officials from Winfield Elementary District 34 urged trustees earlier this month to pursue the plan, arguing the crosswalk would provide a safe route for children crossing the train tracks daily to go to school.

Past officials have also argued the project was needed to ensure the safety of schoolchildren crossing the tracks to Winfield Primary and Central schools as well as the elementary school run by St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.

Last fall, the village board approved the purchase of the Winfield Place Salon to make room for the underpass as well as provide space for a future parking garage in the town center.