After Years Of Stopped Trains And Congestion, City To Improve Problematic Edgebrook Intersection

EDGEBROOK — Whenever Don Marchman sees backed-up traffic in his Edgebrook neighborhood, he knows the culprit is either a car crash or a train.

After years of traffic congestion and stopped trains near the Edgebrook Metra Station, the city’s Department of Transportation is finally looking into solutions.

The Department of Transportation held a meeting at Edgebrook School Wednesday night to get community input on ways to improve the Devon-Caldwell-Central-Lehigh intersection cluster. The meeting is part of what the Chicago Department of Transportation is calling the “Access Edgebrook Planning and Environmental Linkages Study.“

The study area encompasses four busy roadways and six intersections that are bisected by a Metra rail line.

“The area presents a lot of challenges and we are just trying to see what we can do,” Department of Transportation Planning Team Lead Lindsey Frey said.

Potential solutions include an overpass that would lift the rail line over the roads, or an underpass that would move the rail line below ground. Frey said smaller-scale solutions could involve adding bike lanes, curb bumpouts or adjusting the intersection’s traffic lights.

Depending on which solution is chosen, the implementation process could be lengthy. Building something like an overpass or an underpass could take 10 years or more, Frey said.

The Chicago Department of Transportation plans on applying for federal funds to pay for the project.

About 60 residents spoke with Chicago Department of Transportation officials and shared ideas on comment cards and sticky notes during the Wednesday meeting. Alds. Jim Gardiner (45th) and Samantha Nugent (39th), whose wards border the area, also attended the meeting.

Sandra Laase, who’s lived in Edgebrook since 1980, said traffic has gotten worse and that more freight trains have started using the Metra tracks in recent years.

Dan Melnyk, a 16-year resident of the neighborhood, said moving the train tracks underground would be the “prettiest option.” A park could be built above the tracks allowing pedestrians and cyclists to move through the intersections more comfortably, he said.

The area draws a lot of bikers and hikers because of the nearby North Branch Trail and the surrounding forest preserves.

Melnyk said he believes current congestion in the area deters people from visiting Edgebrook’s downtown, which has struggled to maintain businesses.

However, Marchman, who is a 35-year-resident, said he worries that if the city tries to move the tracks underground, they could run into issues with the utilities. Building an overpass could be easier and less expensive, though it could also divide the neighborhood, he said.

Instead, moving the Edgebrook Metra Station a few hundred feet away from Devon Avenue could help ensure trains don’t block the busy road, Marchman said.

Frey said the Chicago Department of Transportation has wanted to look into the area around the Edgebrook Metra Station for a while now. About eight years ago, the department started a project called “Complex Intersections” that collected data at 100 of the city’s most complex intersections. The Devon-Caldwell-Central-Lehigh intersection cluster was near the top of the list, Frey said.

Between 2019-2023, 499 crashes were reported in the area, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.

“These delays are more than an inconvenience. They affect our businesses, our emergency response times and the quality of life in the neighborhood,” Nugent said. “I hope that the feedback provided here is a catalyst for some meaningful change.”

Frey said the Chicago Department of Transportation will use the input gathered Wednesday to develop a range of potential options and look into how much each option would cost, how long they would take to implement and how feasible they are.

The Chicago Department of Transportation plans on presenting all of this information during a second community meeting this fall. After that, the department will apply for federal funding to pay for a phase one study, which will help them finalize an approach.

After a final option is chosen, the department will apply for more federal funding to pay for the project, she said.

Those interested in learning more about the Access Edgebrook can contact Frey at lindsey.frey2@cityofchicago.org.

“We’re really taking all ideas at this point,” she said.