OLD IRVING PARK — Metra has launched a website to track construction updates on the Grayland station at Milwaukee and Kilbourn avenues.
The website was created after neighbors expressed frustration over the project’s delays, noise and lack of communication from Metra officials.
Metra crews closed Milwaukee Avenue between Kilbourn and Kenneth avenues in summer 2022 to speed up the massive project to upgrade the Grayland station and replace the nearby 122-year-old railroad bridge.
Construction began in 2021 and is 56 percent complete as of this month, according to the website. A temporary bridge has been built to make room for the new bridge.
“Foundations for the new bridge are complete, and the abutments and pier to carry the bridge over Milwaukee Avenue are under construction,” according to Metra’s website.
RELATED: Old Irving Park Neighbors Fed Up With Noise, Traffic From Metra Construction
As part of the work, crews recently cut parts of the fence at Old Irving Village, which sits next to the track. The fence will be reinstalled when work is complete, said Metra spokesperson Michael Gillis.
The bridge construction is expected to be finished by November, although Milwaukee Avenue will be closed until the end of the year, officials said. Work is expected to continue through the end of 2024.
After the bridge is done, crews need to shift “hundreds of feet of railroad tracks” from the temporary bridge to the new bridge and demolish the temporary structures. The street and sidewalk will be restored around the temporary bridge foundations, and protected bike lanes will be installed under the bridge, officials previously said.
Officials will keep neighbors updated via the website and notices distributed to neighbors, officials said.
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