Glen Ellyn tunnel project takes step forward

Though construction could start a year from now, Glen Ellyn officials are clearly eager to begin building a tunnel for pedestrians at Taylor Avenue and the railroad tracks.

"I want to personally direct you to keep this project moving in the absolute fastest capacity that it can move," Village President Alex Demos told Village Engineer Bob Minix. "I would like the board to get, at minimum amount, a monthly update of where we are."

At the intersection of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and Taylor, pedestrians now walk single-file through a dimly lit tunnel on a 3-foot-wide path that engineers say isn't set back far enough from the road. Drivers also move through the underpass - one vehicle at a time. But while they're guided by traffic signals, pedestrians and bicyclists are not.

"I feel this project has some life-safety issues to it," Demos said.

The roughly $2.3 million project involves installing a steel pipe directly east of the existing tunnel. Inside, pedestrians would be able to safely walk a wider, concrete path that also would be illuminated and separated from traffic.

The path in the current tunnel, meanwhile, would be removed and the pavement widened, allowing ambulances and fire trucks to cross without spotters.

The village board on Monday unanimously agreed to proceed to a second phase of an engineering study into the structure. The agreement with Alfred Benesch & Co. will cost $136,560 and result in more specific designs for the structure.

That's roughly $50,000 less from an original estimate because a second link to the Illinois Prairie Path has been nixed from the scope of the project.

Trustees late last year voiced concerns about the added cost of building retaining walls - less than 7 feet tall - necessary for the connection. The DuPage County Division of Transportation, the agency that maintains the Prairie Path, also declined to contribute funding, saying the existing access is adequate for pedestrians.

They currently use a connection by traveling south under the tracks, crossing Taylor and then heading west to get to the Prairie Path.

What's more, engineers determined "that while desirable, the project grant funding would not be compromised if the connection between Taylor and the Prairie Path was not constructed," Minix said.

The lion's share - 80 percent - of the construction costs will be covered by a federal grant of up to $2.3 million. The village must bid out the work by fall 2020 to use the grant, but construction is expected to begin in early 2017.