John R. Christian Fire Chief | Barrington Fire Department
John R. Christian Fire Chief | Barrington Fire Department
The Village of Barrington is dedicated to enhancing public safety, with a strong focus on rail safety initiatives that affect the community. For several decades, rail safety has remained a top priority. Barrington’s elected officials and staff regularly share updates on these efforts through Village communications and at Board of Trustees meetings, which are open to the public.
In March, the Village received notice that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) allocated $1.15 million in its crossing safety improvement program budget toward installing pedestrian crossing gates at Union Pacific crossings in Barrington, including Hough Street, Main Street, and Hillside Avenue. The ICC has jurisdiction to administer and enforce safety requirements for track, facilities, and equipment belonging to all railroads in Illinois and must approve the installation of these pedestrian gates.
Before approval can be obtained, a detailed project scope must be defined. The ICC has attended multiple site visits and meetings with the Village, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), and Union Pacific. The Village has taken the lead during this process, working with an engineering consultant and under ICC’s guidance to compile various requirements needed to build out the required project scope.
The detailed scope is nearing completion and will allow for filing that initiates the state-dictated ICC administrative process. This process follows the Illinois Administrative Code and includes hearings where each party—the Village, IDOT, Union Pacific (UP), and ICC—has an opportunity to testify regarding proposed improvements, presenting exhibits and other evidence relative to the proposed order.
The Village expects these proceedings to take at least a year with final permitting, letting, and construction to follow. The Village remains committed to keeping the pedestrian gate installation project moving forward as quickly as possible.
For all updates on the ongoing Pedestrian Gates project, visit the pedestrian gates update page.
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