The $28.2 Million contract for the new Auburn Park Metra Station and parking facility was awarded to John Burns Construction of Orland Park. The contract has been approved by the Metra Board of Directors to build the new Auburn Park Station on the Rock Island Line in the Auburn-Gresham community on the South Side of Chicago.
An article in Urbanize Chicago states that the new station has been under discussion since at least 2009. Actual work has yet to begin. The transit agency put the project out to bid in May.
The new station will be located on the southeast corner of 79th Street and Lowe Avenue and service Metra's Rock Island Line. The site will include the following:
- Landscaped plaza with covered bicycle racks, benches, trees and canopy
- A vendor building with glass storefronts and a bright open atmosphere
- 84 space parking lot featuring a kiss-n-ride drop off area
- Elevated 480 foot platform accessed by staircase and two elevators
- Chemical-free snow melt system
- Living green wall along the existing retaining wall
- Roadway improvements to provide vehicular access to the station
TY Lin International was chosen to design the facility. Preliminary work on the station will begin this fall and ramp-up in early 2022.
The project will restore commuter rail service to the area around 79th Street, which has been without a station since the Rock Island Railroad closed in 1978 and was absorbed by the Regional Transit Agency (RTA).
The Chicago Tribune states that the bridge on which Metra's tracks run will need to be raised to provide Norfolk Southern, which has tracks that go under the bridge, with higher clearance for its freight trains. The station and the raised bridge will be more than 40 feet above street level when complete.
The new station will run on Metra's Rock Island Line and provide a direct rail link to downtown Chicago as well as the southwest suburbs.
"The people of the South Side deserve better access to public transportation. Our communities have long suffered from disinvestment and unequal access to basic amenities. I promised that I would manifest real change, and I intend to keep that promise by seeing this station open."
State Senator | Jacqueline Collins
Senator Jacqueline Collins secured $30 million in state funding for this project.
Mass Transit Magazine reports that the new station aims to improve access to transportation and jobs throughout the region, support economic development and opportunities in the neighborhood and contribute to the overall health of the community.
DataBid is currently reporting on this project - Metra Rock Island District New Auburn Park Station & Parking Facility (0024051721)
