UP to rebuild Shermer Road bridge

Union Pacific plans to replace the current berm/rail system on Shermer Road south of Willow Road in Glenview, Ill., with a permanent bridge. It is expected to be rebuilt within two years.

The bridge was destroyed by a train derailment on July 4, 2012.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Illinois department of Transportation and UP was signed Tuesday, August 28.

After much discussion with the community, IDOT, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Illinois Commerce Commission, UP sent the MOU’s to the villages of Northbrook and Glenview.

Key terms include:

• Union Pacific will fund and build an approximately 149-foot-long bridge with a 57-foot clear span to provide for three 12-feet-wide traffic lanes, a 10-foot-wide bike path, a 7-foot-wide bike path and four feet of curbing, with an estimated cost of $10 million.

• Union Pacific will fund construction of a temporary connection to Patriot Bouelvard via Old Willow Road to facilitate traffic from businesses south of the closed bridge to detour to Willow Road, at a cost of up to $275,000.

• Union Pacific will fund construction of a temporary traffic control signal at West Lake Avenue and Shermer Road to improve traffic flow, at a cost of up to $57,000.

Glenview, Northbrook and IDOT will be responsible for funding and building the roadway improvements at a future point in time that will be complaint with IDOT’s Complete Streets guidelines.