Shermer Road Reopened Almost 2 Years After Derailment

The following is a press release from the Village of Glenview about the reopening of Shermer Road, between Willow Road and West Lake Avenue:

Traffic can once again traverse Shermer Road between Willow Road and West Lake Avenue with the reopening of the roadway underneath the new railroad viaduct.

The railroad bridge had collapsed two years ago under the weight of coal-filled rail cars, which were derailed when the freight train encountered overheated track that had expanded and buckled. Tragically, two Glenview residents were killed during the derailment.

READ: Train Derails, Collapses Bridge Near Glenview-Northbrook

As a result of a cooperative effort by Union Pacific Railroad, the villages of Glenview and Northbrook, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), an improved 149-foot-long bridge, with a 57-foot clear span, was set in place in November 2013 that incorporates many safety improvements:

• State-of-the-art bridge technology;
• A solid bridge deck that eliminate the possibility of falling objects;
• Removal of a support structure from the middle of the roadway; and
• A wider underpass to allow for future expansion of Shermer Road to three lanes from West Lake Avenue to Willow Road and inclusion of a multi-use 
• pedestrian/bicycle path. 

Repairing and repaving the Shermer Road segment was the last action necessitated by the July 4, 2012 accident. The Illinois Commerce Commission had mandated that Union Pacific repair the road and underground infrastructure no later than September 30, 2014. All parties worked diligently to ensure every effort was made to get the road and storm system repairs done as quickly as possible, beating the ICC dealing by three months.

To help with traffic flow while through-traffic was blocked at the site of the collapse, a temporary access road from Shermer Road to Patriot Boulevard (an extension of Old Willow Road) was created. That temporary roadway will now be closed.