Union Pacific Railroad Company has
completed installation of a wider railroad overpass above Shermer Road at the
site of the July 2012 fatal derailment a month ahead of schedule, making it
possible that the temporary track bed of crushed stone blocking Shermer near
the Northbrook/Glenview boundary could be removed and Shermer Road reopened, at
least partially, by year end. The $10 million, 150 foot span will permit
widening of Shermer at that location to 3 lanes sometime in the future.
According
to IDOT, plans for the widening won’t likely come to fruition for another 5 or
10 years, but Glenview and Northbrook residents will be happy to see the
roadway restored to its pre-derailment 2 lane configuration as soon as
possible. Union Pacific construction workers will begin removing the temporary
road bed berm from Shermer in the last half of November.
