Rendering showing the underpass beneath the Canadian National Railway tracks along Route 14 in Barrington.
Courtesy of village of Barrington
Contractors for Barrington’s Route 14 underpass have been selected from a field of seven bidders.
The winning bid of $69.4 million was placed by partners IHC Construction Companies LLC of Elgin and Curran Contracting Company of Crystal Lake.
Deputy Village Manager Marie Hansen said the bid was slightly more than the village’s engineers anticipated, but added the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is likely to cover the gap.
CMAP is the agency approving the federal funding.
Village officials are meeting with CMAP later this week to formalize finances.
Funding for the project is coming from several sources, including 80% in federal funds, 13% from the Illinois Department of Transportation, 7% from the Illinois Commerce Commission Grade Crossing Protection Fund and less than 1% from Barrington.
Over the next two months, the village will finalize the contract documents and shore up details on the timeline.
Construction of the underpass will occur beneath the Canadian National Railway tracks on Route 14 between Valencia Avenue and Hough Street.
Village officials estimate the underpass will eliminate more than 20,000 daily vehicular crossings.
It also will provide an unblocked route through the village for vehicles traveling to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital.
Some work has already been completed, including tree removal. The Illinois Department of Transportation required the work between April and October to avoid harming the endangered northern long-eared bat.
Additionally, the village is demolishing two vacant buildings on Elm Road. One is down and another is awaiting asbestos removal.
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