Underpass or Overpass for Rte. 14, Railroad Separation?

Barrington Village President Karen Darch urges residents to come to the public meeting, Thursday, regarding the grade separation of Rte. 14 from the EJ&E/CN rail line. 

"It's important to get community feedback. I can't tell you strongly enough how really  important it is to get out there," Darch said. 

 Greg Summers, director of engineering and building for the village, said the project is at a critical point and this is one of the last opportunites for public feedback. IDOT is proposing two alternatives, an underpass and an overpass. Summers said residents need to fill out forms at the event stating their preference. 

The public meeting is an open house format, between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. at Barrington High School. Residents can come any time between those hours.

Following is the village's news release on the meeting:

 The Village of Barrington, in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), has been studying options for a grade separation of U.S. Route 14 from the EJ&E/CN rail line to alleviate traffic congestion stemming from increasing rail freight operations.

·        The required IDOT planning process is driven by a “context sensitive solution” process that factors in the preferences of all users, including Village residents, when it comes to identifying multiple options and determining which alternative is the best solution for our community.

·        At this point in the process, the solutions are proposed to  be narrowed down to two options:

An overpass in which cars travel on U.S. Route 14 over the rail line at a maximum height of 30 feet (3 building stories) above the train tracks; or,

An underpass that will have cars traveling below grade under the freight rail traffic.

·        Thursday, April 25 will be the last time for the general public to provide comment before a preferred grade separation alternative is selected, so it’s imperative that all residents, businesses and commuters take the time to review the plans and comment.

·        The Public Open House will enable residents to view schematics of the plan as well as graphic renderings of the two different grade separation alternatives.  It’s also a great opportunity to get your questions answered by the project experts including Village, IDOT and the engineering consultant representatives.

·        The meeting is open house format, so you can stop by at any time between 4:30 and 7:30 and stay as long as you like.  This is your chance to be heard so that we get significant input to support the grade separation option the public prefers!

·        When attending the meeting, please use the High School’s Main Street entrance, and enter the school building through Entrance 45.