Metra OKs contract for Lombard Station project

Metra's board this week approved an $8.1 million contract to build a pedestrian underpass and complete related improvements at the Lombard Station along the Union Pacific Railroad West Line.

The contract was awarded to John Burns Construction Co. The work will include a new pedestrian tunnel, retaining walls, Americans with Disabilities Act ramps, stairways, platform shelters, canopies over both inbound and outbound platforms, landscaping, and other ancillary items for the station.

The project will be funded with $3.7 million from Metra; $3.3 million from UP; $750,000 from the Illinois Commerce Commission; and $300,000 from the village of Lombard.

Under a separate but simultaneous project, John Burns Construction and UP will rehabilitate the platforms at Lombard, at an estimated cost of $1.6 million.

The work is expected to begin this spring and take about 10 months to complete. The station will remain open during construction, and all work will be staged to minimize the disruption to riders. About 1,300 riders use the station each weekday.