Long-Awaited Plan To Construct Underpass Along Route 14 In Barrington Gets Green Light
{CBS) -- Good news for those who wait: After a decade, a traffic nightmare is north suburban Barrington will get a long-awaited fix.
Officials say the federal government approved a $48 million project to build an underpass on Route 14 beneath Canadian National freight train tracks near Lake Zurich Road.
CN trains pass through that area 20 times a day, often creating long delays. The project will also allow ambulances to reach a nearby hosptial faster. CN plans to add another nine trains once a track expansion project between Hoffman Estates and Elgin in approved.
The funding will allow the start of the engineering phase of the project.
Actual construction will begin in 2022, with completion expected in 2024.
Several residents have been forced to abandon their homes already, only to have the project stall, until now.
"It has been a long and arduous journey to achieve a grade separation at Route 14 in Barrington," said Village of Barrington President Karen Darch.
"It brings me great joy to know that in just a few short years, our community will finally have some relief from the congestion, traffic, and public safety issues that have become almost untenable since Canadian National purchased the EJ&E railroad over a decade ago."
