Metra to replace UP North Line bridges

Metra next month will wrap up a multiyear project to replace bridges on the Union Pacific North Line.

Beginning April 9, the railroad will implement a new schedule for evening and weekend trains on the line to accommodate the project. The schedule change will enable Metra trains to operate on a single track between Clybourn Station and Evanston while crews complete the $15.5 million bridge replacements.

Metra is replacing bridges that carry trains over Webster Avenue and the North Branch of the Chicago River. The latter bridge is also known as the Deering Bridge.

"This project is a major investment in the infrastructure of the UP North Line that riders will benefit from for many years to come," said Jim Derwinski, Metra's chief executive officer and executive director, in a press release.

To learn about Metra's other bridge replacement projects, read this feature from Progressive Railroading's November 2017 issue.