CME.07 – Faster Freight: Rand Road and Union Pacific Railroad Grade Separation
Team Members Heading link
- Mohamed Abdelhamid
- Gurbir Dhanoa
- Kobe Raksinh
- Martin Vallecillos
- Henry Wilbur
- Arek Wojcik
Project Description Heading link
In 2019, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) reported that freight bottlenecks have caused nearly 660 million hours of delay and $42 billion in additional expenses to the US economy. ARTBA also reported that Chicago was among the cities most affected. Freight bottlenecks are events in which freight trains experience major stoppages and delays on their way to deliver supplies to and from shipping docks. Freight bottlenecks can occur due to multiple reasons such as constraints within the rail network, which decrease the number of freight trains that are able to pass through a certain area, or grade crossings where freight trains are required to slow down for safety measures. Therefore, the objective of this project is to expand the efforts of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) program, an initiative organized by the Illinois Department Of Transportation (IDOT), the Chicago Department Of Transportation (CDOT), and the six Class I Railroads of the Belt Railway of Chicago for the purpose of improving the overall freight and passenger rail network of the Chicago Metropolitan Area. CREATE’s various transportation projects also serve to improve the quality of life for the area’s residents and commuters. The project team will expand on CREATE’s efforts through identifying, assessing, and proposing an improvement design at a potential bottleneck location that has not yet been analyzed by CREATE. The location chosen for improvement was the Rand Road and Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) Grade Crossing in Des Plaines, Illinois. This project is primarily a feasibility study in which more than one design alternative will be analyzed and the most feasible alternative will be implemented. The project team will create a TS&L (Type, Size, and Location) drawing to demonstrate the proposed grade separation improvement. Keywords Freight Bottlenecks, CREATE, Freight Rail Network, Quality of Life, TS&L (Type, Size, and Location), Rand Road, Des Plaines, Union Pacific Railroad, Feasibility Analysis