New Des Plaines station platform to help downtown traffic

Drivers complaining about the vexing trains in downtown Des Plaines will get some relief.

Metra and Union Pacific Railroad plan to start a project next week to rebuild part of a station platform and add about 600 feet of new platform.

When work is completed by late summer, trains will stop at a different point so traffic will move better along Pearson Street and Graceland Avenue.

This round of work will extend a new center platform west of Lee Street to Graceland.

Outbound trains from Chicago will stop west of Pearson so Pearson traffic can move.

Likewise, inbound trains headed to Chicago will keep Graceland clear to keep traffic moving, explained Tim Oakley, Des Plaines engineering director.

Union Pacific is handling the construction, while Metra will pay for it. Metra couldn't be reached to comment on the cost of the project.

"Obviously, the purpose will be to alleviate the traffic congestion in downtown Des Plaines," Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes said.

There will be a few headaches once work begins.

At times, Graceland and Lee will have to be closed to traffic to allow for work to shift the railroad tracks.

The existing southern tracks will be moved 10 feet south to allow for new platform construction.

As of Wednesday, there was no schedule for the construction work.