CREATE Launches $72.4M Columbus Avenue Grade Separation

Chicago, USA – On July 16, 2025, CREATE program partners held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Columbus Avenue grade separation (GS11), a $72.4 million underpass that will route 11,500 daily vehicles beneath the Belt Railway Co. of Chicago’s tracks. The project, awarded to ICC Group Inc., will eliminate the at-grade crossing at Maplewood Avenue and add pedestrian and bicycle side paths. Physical construction begins in August 2026, more than a year after the ceremonial start, and will require over two years to complete.

What Is the Full Scope of This Project?

The Columbus Avenue grade separation (GS11) replaces an at-grade crossing used by 11,500 vehicles and 32 freight trains every day with a grade-separated underpass structure, completely removing the potential for train‑vehicle collisions. The scope includes a new roadway underpass to carry vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle traffic beneath the Belt Railway Co. of Chicago tracks, plus side paths that close a gap in local non‑motorized networks. The crossing serves as a critical route for police, fire and EMS response, and the separation will reduce emergency‑response delays that are frequent today. GS11 is one of the 70 projects in the $6 billion Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) program; 36 of those projects are already complete, and GS11 falls among the remaining 34 that aim to untangle the nation’s busiest rail hub.

Key Project Data

How Does This Compare to Similar Projects?

Within the CREATE program, the $72.4 million cost of GS11 sits slightly below the average project outlay of approximately $85.7 million (the $6 billion program divided by 70 projects). A neighboring CREATE grade separation, the 71st Street crossing (GS12), is advancing in parallel; its contract value was not publicly detailed but is expected to fall in a similar $60 million–$80 million range based on typical underpass projects in the Chicago area. On a national scale, the need for such crossing eliminations is underscored by rising freight volumes: U.S. intermodal units reached 269,315 per week in August 2025, a 4.6 percent increase over the previous year, spurred by new partnerships like the CSX–BNSF intermodal collaboration (Source: Eno Center for Transportation, 2025). The daily vehicle count at Columbus Avenue, 11,500, is in line with major arterial underpasses nationwide that handle 10,000–20,000 vehicles per day, making the project a standard‑scale intervention rather than an outlier.

Editor’s Analysis

A groundbreaking ceremony that precedes construction by more than a year illustrates the multi‑year coordination typical of CREATE’s multi‑agency, multi‑railroad structure. The $72.4 million price tag, slightly below the program average, suggests value engineering that keeps costs per project manageable while still delivering full grade separation and active‑transportation paths. With the U.S. rail freight market projected to grow at a compound annual rate between 2.8 percent and 5.5 percent through the mid‑2030s (Source: Market.us, 2025; Market Research Future, 2025) and intermodal volumes already up 4.6 percent in 2025, eliminating chokepoints on the Belt Railway — a critical link in the national network — moves from a safety priority to a competitive necessity. GS11, together with its sibling GS12, will reduce friction for the 32 daily freight trains while preserving fast emergency access, a dual dividend that rail freight growth demands.

FAQ

Q: What is the Columbus Avenue grade separation (GS11) project?
A: GS11 is a $72.4 million infrastructure project in Chicago that replaces the at‑grade crossing of Columbus Avenue at Maplewood Avenue with an underpass, carrying 11,500 vehicles daily beneath the Belt Railway Co. of Chicago’s freight line. It also adds dedicated paths for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Q: When will construction actually start on the Columbus Avenue underpass?
A: Despite a July 2025 groundbreaking ceremony, construction is scheduled to begin in August 2026 and will take more than two years. An exact completion date was not officially disclosed, but the project is expected to finish in late 2028 or early 2029.

Q: How many daily trains use the Columbus Avenue crossing?
A: Approximately 32 freight trains pass through the crossing each day, operated by the Belt Railway Co. of Chicago. The new underpass will eliminate all train‑vehicle conflicts, reduce emergency‑response delays and improve freight fluidity through the rail hub.