; 65th & Harlem Avenue & Belt Railway of Chicago Grade Separation - CREATE Program

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Grade Separations
GS1

65th & Harlem Avenue & Belt Railway of Chicago Grade Separation

LocationCreated with sketchtool.

Location

North Limit 62nd Pl.
South Limit W 65th St.
East Limit S Sayre Ave.
West Limit S Harlem Ave.
trainCreated with sketchtool.

Daily Trains Affected

33 freight trains

Communities Benefited:

  • Chicago – Clearing community area
    Summit

Benefits

Daily, 9,850 vehicles and 185 CTA and Pace buses (#165, #307 and #386) pass through the 65th Street crossing, which is on a state-designated truck route. An additional 17,500 vehicles pass through the adjacent intersection on Harlem Avenue at 63rd Street. These grade crossings are located in close proximity to BRC’s Clearing Yard, one of the busiest in the City of Chicago. Every train passing through these grade crossings are either entering or exiting this yard, and must move at very slow speeds (10-25 mph) in this area. Trains may also be delayed due to servicing of rail customers along the same line.

This project will reduce roadway congestion and improve safety at this location. The 65th Street grade crosing separation will eliminate delay to over 1,100 vehicles daily, resulting in alleviation of 644 daily motorist hours of delay. It will also eliminate the potential for collisions between vehicles and trains.

The crossing at 63rd St. is designated a “911 Critical Crossing.” This is a critical location for emergency services to access communities that have a high frequency of train movements or delays. The grade separation at 65th Street and additional safety improvements at 63rd St. will improve emergency responder travel times throughout the area.

IL43 GS1
IL43 GS1
IL43 GS1

Scope of Work

The project will eliminate the at-grade crossing of 65th Street and two Belt Railway of Chicago (BRC) tracks located approximately 100 feet east of Harlem Avenue. This will be accomplished by creating either an overpass or underpass for vehicles using 65th Street at this location. Additional traffic safety improvements will also be made to the nearby intersection of 63rd Street and Harlem Avenue, where the same railroad tracks cross 63rd Street approximately 300 feet east of the intersection.

For more information, visit http://www.il43study.org.

Project Status

Phase I Completed
Phase II Underway
Phase III Not Started
IL43 GS1

Project Location Map

Project outlines and locations shown above are approximations and do not necessarily represent final design and construction limits.