; Control Point (CP) Canal Flyover - CREATE Program

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Passenger Corridor
P6

Control Point (CP) Canal Flyover

LocationCreated with sketchtool.

Location

North Limit Central Avenue
South Limit Calumet Sag Canal
East Limit Archer Rd.
West Limit Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal
trainCreated with sketchtool.

Daily Trains Affected

87 freight trains (5 IC and 6 UP trains on the IC line

76 trains on the CSX line (CN, BNSF, CP,CSX, IHB, NS and UP)

6 weekday Metra trains (Heritage Corridor)

10 Amtrak trains (Lincoln/Texas Eagle
Service)

Communities Benefited:

  • Communities along the Metra Heritage Corridor Line between Chicago and Joliet

  • Communities along the Amtrak Lincoln Service serving Joliet, Bloomington-Normal,Springfield and St. Louis, MO

  • Communities along the Amtrak Texas Eagle service between Chicago and San
    Antonio, TX

  • Cook County

Benefits

The purpose of the project is to improve safety and reliability, reduce congestion and delays for freight and passenger/commuter service and provide adequate capacity for passenger/commuter and freight rail traffic by minimizing passenger/freight and freight/freight train conflicts at Control Point (CP) Canal.

Currently, all trains traveling through CP Canal in any of the four directions must physically occupy the same space in the crossing. A flyover structure would improve safety and reliability by allowing trains crossing CP Canal to travel over or under another train, which eliminates the need for passenger/commuter and/or freight trains to occupy the same space.

Wheel in Motion 1 1

There are numerous times during the day when passenger/commuter and/or freight trains must slow or physically stop when approaching CP Canal to wait for a train on one of the crossing tracks to clear. A flyover structure at CP Canal would provide an alternative for trains to get through this area without these delays. This project will alleviate nearly 3,000 annual Metra commuter passenger hours of delay due to freight conflict at this location.

Providing a means to eliminate the conflicts between crossing trains at CP Canal would reduce delays and allow for increased freight and passenger service within the overall regional rail network. This would benefit existing trains delayed by the at-grade crossing and permit future growth in both passenger and freight service, which is anticipated to occur within the region and along these lines in particular.

Wheel in Motion 1 1
rail inspection

Scope of Work

The project will construct a double-tracked bridge to carry the two Illinois Central Railroad Company (IC) main tracks, which are owned by the Canadian National Railway (CN), over the two Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT) tracks, which are owned by CSX Transportation. The project includes associated signal, track, crossover and bridge work. To maintain local access/connectivity to the local shippers in this area, the existing rail-rail crossing will remain. Project-related construction activities are anticipated to primarily occur within the existing rail corridor between LaGrange Road to the south and Harlem Avenue to the north.

Project Status

Phase I Underway
Phase II Not Started
Phase III Not Started
group of 5 men standing infront of shiping containers

Project Location Map

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