RAVENSWOOD — Two years after a new outbound platform opened at the Metra Ravenswood Station, construction on the inbound side is set to start.
On Wednesday, the Metra Board of Directors approved contracts to build the inbound half of the Ravenswood Station, as well as to replace 11 bridges on the east side of the Union Pacific North Line between Grace and Balmoral, replicating work completed in 2015 on the track's west side.
Construction is expected to begin in July and last for two and a half years. East side bridge replacement will not include the same retaining wall structures as on the west side.
Metra originally announced the planned improvements to the station and bridges in 2010, with anticipated completion in 2018. The outbound platform wound up opening a year later than projected.
According to Metra, the existing bridges are more than 100 years old and "can no longer be economically repaired and maintained."
Once completed, the new station will have longer covered platforms, warming shelters, new lighting, ramps, landscaping and a vendor space, Metra said.
Total cost of the second phase is $32.7 million: $17.2 million for bridge replacement and $15.5 million for the inbound half of the station, which is the busiest on the UP North Line outside of downtown.
Metra also announced a plan to repair the bridges that carry the UP North Line over Webster Avenue and the North Branch of the Chicago River (known as the Deering Bridge). This project, costing $15.5 million, will take place concurrently with the Ravenswood construction and is expected to last a year.
