Neighbors, alderwoman concerned about safety at crash-prone Southwest Side Chicago railway overpass

CBS News

22-05-2025

Leaders on Chicago's Southwest Side spoke up Wednesday night about safety concerns regarding a viaduct at a busy intersection.
They say it keeps getting hit by cars — with more than 100 crashes in the past three years.
In McKinley Park along Pershing Road between Western Avenue and Western Boulevard — which are separate streets divided by a green strip — drivers and pedestrians share what they think of the busy junction with a freight railway overpass swooping above.
"Confusion, I think, is the first thing," said Blanca Hernandez, who lives nearby. "There's a few different lanes going in each direction, and several pillars that are kind of in the way."
The pillars hold up the railroad overpass, which swoops over the intersections diagonally. The condition of some of the pillars is the subject of growing concern.
"Who's responsible for checking that?" Hernandez said.
Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) wants answers to the same question.
"I think that there has to be an evaluation of the many pillars," she said.
But while the rusty, deteriorating condition of some of the pillars doesn't look nice, it is not what is leaving many pedestrians uneasy when walking underneath the rail.
"As you can see, there have been multiple crashes onto that pillar," said Ald. Ramirez, pointing out a pillar that has been left bent and mangled.
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Ald. Ramirez wrote a letter to Norfolk Southern Railway, demanding action for the way the overpass looks. Ramirez wrote that "the pillars are in a state of disrepair and do not look structurally sound."
"And that's why I do believe that we need all hands on deck," the alderwoman said.
The alderwoman also checked in with the Chicago Department of Transportation, and determined that since 2022 — we're talking three years — there have been 100 crashes under the railway overpass. Many of those crashes have slammed right into the pillars — further questioning their stability
"If we don't do anything about it, at the rate we're going — 100 crashes within, you know, three years — God forbid we get into a situation without having done something before," Ramirez said.
Norfolk Southern said in a statement: "Norfolk Southern is committed to the safety of our operations and our infrastructure, including our bridges, and we inspect and maintain all our bridges in accordance with the Federal Railroad Administration's Bridge Safety Standards and our own Bridge Management Program."
Norfolk Southern said it responds to all public notifications, including this one, with an additional inspection. The railway added that many of the tracks over the viaduct are not active and do not carry the weight of train traffic.
Norfolk Southern also noted that it spends more than $1 billion annually on infrastructure improvements such as rail bridge maintenance, and inspects and maintains its infrastructure for the safety of the public, its employees, and its operations.
Typically, lighting under a bridge, which Ald. Ramirez also mentioned in her letter, is not owned, operated, or maintained by the railroad.
Residents are happy to hear someone is looking the problems with the viaduct.
"There's attention to it, and hopefully, maybe the public can rally behind that," said Hernandez.