Mount Prospect pedestrian bridge still faces funding gap

Mount Prospect trustees have approved substantial engineering work and landed on a design for the pedestrian bridge linking Meadows and Melas parks.

But the village still needs to bridge an approximately $1.6 million funding gap before it’s built.

Concerned about the safety of pedestrians crossing the Union Pacific railroad tracks at Northwest Highway — especially Prospect High School students — the village began looking at options in 2018.

The village completed an engineering study and is undergoing design engineering currently. Meanwhile, the village board chose a bridge design.

Public Works Director Sean Dorsey said the prefabricated truss bridge would be cost-effective and quick to build; it’s expected to be done by the end of 2026.

Trustees Augie Filippone and William Grossi have raised questions about the uncertainty over future funding and potential consequences.

Filippone was concerned the village would have to reimburse about $850,000 if the bridge doesn’t get built.

“We have spent the money for Phase I and Phase II, and we still don't know whether we're getting one of the sources of funding,” Grossi said. “When we started this, it was $7 million.”

Dorsey said the total cost should be about $10 million, including construction and engineering.

The village is contributing $1.8 million from its Community Investment Fund.

Dorsey added the village received a more than $61,000 Invest in Cook grant from Cook County for engineering. The village received an appropriation from U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of more than $517,000 for the current design phase.

Dorsey said construction funding would come from a $3 million Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program grant and a more than $2 million grant from the Surface Transportation Program through the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.

But that leaves a roughly $1.6 million gap for the village to close. Dorsey said a $2.9 million Grade Crossing Protection Fund grant from the Illinois Commerce Commission is pending. Additional STP funds are also possible, he added.

Still, the village also reported more than $43.7 million in reserve in 2023.

Money will not be coming from the Mount Prospect Park District, which owns Meadows Park and leases Melas from the village. Melas is owned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, which leases the park to the village.

George Giese, the park district’s director of administration, said the district has not been asked and has no future plans to contribute funding.