Daily Herald opinion: Easing a logjam: Des Plaines underpass would improve traffic flow and, especially, safety
Des Plaines is getting serious about building an underpass on Algonquin Road under the UP beltline tracks between Mount Prospect and Wolf roads. The project is sorely needed, both for traffic alleviation and for improved 911 response times on both sides of town.
The city has been studying railroad congestion and 911 response times citywide since 2008, and anyone who lives in Des Plaines or drives through the city regularly can tell you the beltline creates a frequent logjam, where long freight trains heading to and from the Proviso yard in Melrose Park can simultaneously block two or more of the crossings at Howard Street, Oakton Street, Algonquin Road, Thacker Street and Wolf Road at West Park.
If ordinary traffic is inconvenienced, emergency vehicles are even more disadvantaged. Only one of the city’s three fire stations is on the west side of the tracks, and Des Plaines Fire Chief Matt Matzl said an Algonquin Road underpass will improve 911 response times from all of them. Police Chief David Anderson agrees an underpass on Algonquin is the best option “by far” to help officers get across Des Plaines during emergencies.
Trains, both freight and passenger, have been a way of life in Des Plaines basically forever, and when we say forever we mean that the railroads arrived long before most of the people did. Today, the city of nearly 59,000 has four railroads and 31 grade-level crossings, and residents who have appointments in town that require crossing one or more sets of tracks mentally add time to their drive. This underpass won’t solve all that, but data shows it would cut down on emergency response times and prevent minor crashes (Twenty-seven non-fatal crashes occurred between 2005 and 2007 on Algonquin Road due to people slowing or stopping for trains.)
Indeed, if an underpass had been in place years ago it would have prevented the tragic death of one of Des Plaines’ police officers. On Dec. 13, 1980, Officer James Jobe, a 13-year veteran of the force, was responding to a domestic call that was on the other side of the tracks from where he was. He pulled up to the Algonquin Road crossing and waited for a southbound freight to clear the roadway. Once it did, he drove around the lowered gates (which police were allowed to do in emergencies), and as horrified witnesses watched, the squad was hit by a northbound freight that Jobe never saw coming.
The train pushed the car for three blocks. Jobe, only 41, died two weeks later at Holy Family Hospital, leaving a wife, three children and a grieving city.
Today, in 2025, the project is estimated to cost $47 million and would be completed by 2030. To help, Des Plaines has been promised $14.5 million through a federal Surface Transportation Program earmark and another $18 million earmarked by the Illinois Commerce Commission Crossing Protection Fund.
However, none of that $32.5 million is in hand. And while city officials say they aren't assuming the grants won't materialize, it would be reasonable in this economic climate to be concerned. Currently the plan is to supplement the grants with the city's revenue from Rivers Casino. Should some of that promised grant money disappear, city leaders would have to determine how much casino revenue could be used to take its place.
Which is why city officials are hoping elected state and federal representatives will bird-dog those promised grants, as do we.
“This project needs to continue,” said Tim Watkins, Des Plaines’ director of public works and engineering, adding that anything elected officials can do to keep the pressure on to secure the money would be an asset. Mayor Andrew Goczkowski calls the project “a worthwhile investment,” noting that in a mass-casualty event a train could block multiple crossings and prevent emergency vehicles from quickly responding.
“It’s clear what has to happen and what it should look like,” he said. Engineers prefer the more expensive underpass to an overpass, not just because it looks better, but because traffic naturally slows as it climbs out of the underpass and approaches the next intersection, whereas with an overpass vehicles speed up as they come down the hill.
Fortunately, no mass casualty has yet occurred and hopefully none ever will. But Des Plaines is correct to see a problem and collect the data it needs to address it. We ask our state and local reps to just be prepared to lend their assistance.