Amtrak is working on the railroad in Chicago
Written by jrood
February 14, 2001 Amtrak is using $115 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to improve tracks, buildings and control systems in Chicago this construction season, as part of a $1-billion construction program to fund capital projects designed to rebuild critical infrastructure.
"We are investing in our
infrastructure in Chicago to improve our operations and support the growing
demand to travel by Amtrak," said President and CEO Joseph Boardman.
He noted America’s
intercity passenger railroad posted a ridership increase of more than seven
percent nationally in the last nine months, including double-digit increases on
the Chicago corridor to and from St. Louis, with strong results also on the Hiawatha
Service corridor to and from Milwaukee and the Wolverine Service corridor to
and from Detroit/Pontiac.
"These Chicago projects will
create jobs and make a significant investment in the future of Amtrak and the
Midwest rail system," said U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill. "These improvements
are in tandem with the $1.2 billion in Recovery Act funding for work in
downstate Illinois that will help bring high speed rail to the Chicago to St.
Louis line."
More than three million
Amtrak passengers used Chicago Union Station last year, with more than 50 daily
trains, making it the fourth-busiest in the national network. In addition, the
nearly 130,000 commuters who pass through the station on an average weekday,
with 248 weekday commuter train arrivals or departures, will also benefit from
the infrastructure improvements.
These projects in Chicago
are under way and expected to be finished by February 2011.
Amtrak has awarded a
$106.2-million contract to replace or renew approximately five miles of track
and to renovate or repair buildings used to inspect and maintain Amtrak trains at
Chicago Union Station. Water, air, lighting, natural gas and heated track
switching systems will be replaced or upgraded to improve service reliability
in Chicago’s harsh winters and to meet the demands of growing ridership. Jacobs
Inc. and subcontractors Kiewit Western Co. and Swanson Contracting are
performing the work.
A new $9-million control
center in Chicago is being built to manage and dispatch Amtrak and other rail
traffic in four geographically separate areas, including Chicago Union Station
North, Chicago Union Station South, New Orleans Terminal and the Amtrak
Michigan District. Operations at the center involve interconnections with
territories owned by Metra, Norfolk Southern, BNSF and Canadian National.
When finished, the
Chicago Control Center will improve the ability of Amtrak to manage daily train
operations and extraordinary circumstances, with back-up capabilities elsewhere
in the Chicago Terminal and at the Central National Operations Center in
Delaware.
Pepper Construction Co.
and vendors including Lucien Lagrange Architects, Environmental Systems Design
Inc., ARINC Inc. and Jones Lang LaSalle are involved in the project.
