Winfield celebrates underpass opening

Commuters have been enjoying a new pedestrian underpass all week near the Metra station in downtown Winfield.

On Friday morning, it was the village officials' chance to celebrate.

Dozens of people, including representatives from the Union Pacific Railroad and Central DuPage Hospital, attended a grand opening for the $3.9 million structure, which runs beneath the Union Pacific tracks.

"We're excited," Village Manager Curt Barrett said. "It helps tie the downtown together."

The project, which began last September after nine years of planning, was completed ahead of schedule.

As a result, Barrett said, the village will be able to implement some safe routing plans for students before the school year begins.

"Now our kids on the north side of the tracks will be able to safely go under the tracks to get to school," he said. "We're just tickled."

There were times when not everyone was so thrilled with the project. At one point during the planning stage, some residents voiced opposition. And several board members said they didn't want village dollars spent on the work.

The funding problem was solved when various sources, including the state and federal government, contributed more than $3.9 million in grant money. Even CDH contributed $50,000 and Union Pacific pledged $840,000. So Winfield didn't need to borrow any money for the project.

While final numbers are being calculated, Barrett said: "We believe we're going to be on budget."