The Metra Board of Directors today approved a $15.2 million contract to build a new Peterson Ridge Station and parking facility on the Union Pacific North Line. A Metra station in Edgewater has been planned for years. Click here to see a rendering of the new station.
Metra had originally planned to fund the project with its share of proceeds from the 2009 state of Illinois bond programs and money secured by then State Representative and now Ald. Harry Osterman (48th) with strong support from former Ald. Pat O’Connor (40th). However, that funding was held up in the state’s budget woes and then cut in 2017. Funding for the station was restored in recent state budgets. Current 40th Ward Ald. Andre Vasquez also supports the new station.
The contract for the work was awarded to John Burns Construction Company of Orland Park, the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, through a competitive bidding process. The contractor has committed to awarding 30 percent of the subcontracting work to Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) firms.
The project, which is expected to start this fall and take about 18 months to complete, includes construction of two six-car platforms; a new pedestrian bridge over Peterson Avenue; heated concrete stairs and ADA-compliant ramps; a glass and masonry warming house with side canopies and metal roof; two shelters with on-demand heating; an access drive with a cul-de-sac turnaround and ADA pick-up/drop-off; five ADA parking spaces and 44 pay parking spaces along Ravenswood Avenue; bicycle parking; a plaza with associated landscaping and irrigation system; reworked traffic signals for the station entrance; and the rehabilitation of the existing bridges at Peterson and Ridge avenues.